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Comparison · Infra & APIs

Clair vs oVirt

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Clair and oVirt — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Clair vs oVirt: at a glance

FeatureClairoVirt
SectorInfra & APIsInfra & APIs
Velocity score2.50.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themescontainer-security, vulnerability-scanning, sbom, red-hatvirtualization, maintenance-mode, backports, ovf-import
Last editorial update8h ago3mo ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Clair?

Clair 4.10 RC can read SBOMs to match Java vulnerabilities.

Clair cut its first 4.10.0 release candidate on November 13, eleven months after 4.9.0. Its Java indexers can now read CycloneDX SBOM files and treat them as the source of truth, and Red Hat's VEX data now covers Maven advisories, so Java packages in Red Hat images can be matched. It also reduces memory use when many packages share a source package.

Read the full Clair trajectory →

What is oVirt?

A virtualization manager coasting on backports, with releases years apart

oVirt Engine's release feed is sparse and slowing: 4.5.5 in late 2023, 4.5.6 and a pair of 4.5.3.x backports in early 2024, then nothing until 4.5.7 in December 2025. Almost every entry is a list of targeted fixes and backports rather than features — OVF import edge cases, template handling, NVRAM save/restore logic, CA generation as a non-root user, Keycloak group handling. One CVE, CVE-2024-0822, appears in 4.5.6 and its 4.5.3 backport.

Read the full oVirt trajectory →

Clair vs oVirt: editorial side-by-side

C
Clair
INFRA · APIS
2.5

Clair 4.10 RC can read SBOMs to match Java vulnerabilities.

◆ Current state

Clair cut its first 4.10.0 release candidate on November 13, eleven months after 4.9.0. Its Java indexers can now read CycloneDX SBOM files and treat them as the source of truth, and Red Hat's VEX data now covers Maven advisories, so Java packages in Red Hat images can be matched. It also reduces memory use when many packages share a source package.

◆ Where it's heading

Since 4.8 Clair has moved from Red Hat's older OVAL data to VEX, and each release follows Red Hat's security data more closely. 4.10 adds SBOMs as an input, so Clair can match what an image's own manifest declares, not only what it finds on disk.

◆ Prediction

More 4.10 release candidates and then a final are likely; the long gap between releases suggests that could take weeks.

O
oVirt
INFRA · APIS
0.0

A virtualization manager coasting on backports, with releases years apart

◆ Current state

oVirt Engine's release feed is sparse and slowing: 4.5.5 in late 2023, 4.5.6 and a pair of 4.5.3.x backports in early 2024, then nothing until 4.5.7 in December 2025. Almost every entry is a list of targeted fixes and backports rather than features — OVF import edge cases, template handling, NVRAM save/restore logic, CA generation as a non-root user, Keycloak group handling. One CVE, CVE-2024-0822, appears in 4.5.6 and its 4.5.3 backport.

◆ Where it's heading

This reads as a mature platform in maintenance rather than one being developed. The parallel 4.5.3.x stream exists purely to carry fixes back to deployments that cannot move, and the two-year gap between 4.5.6 and 4.5.7 says more about the project's momentum than any individual change does. Nothing in these entries points toward new capability.

◆ Prediction

The entries do not support a confident call on where this goes next; the only observable pattern is long gaps punctuated by accumulated fix rollups, so another such rollup is the most that can be inferred.

Alternatives to Clair and oVirt

Other Infra & APIs products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Clair or oVirt.

See all Clair alternatives → · See all oVirt alternatives →

Recent activity from Clair and oVirt

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 13h agoClairClair 4.10 RC reads CycloneDX SBOMs for Java matching
  2. 11mo agooVirt4.5.7 lands after a two-year gap with accumulated fixes
  3. 11mo agoClairClair 4.9 moves CVSS data to NVD's 2.0 feeds
  4. 2y agoClairClair 4.8 replaces Red Hat OVAL data with VEX
  5. 2y agooVirtoVirt Engine 4.5.3.11
  6. 2y agoClairClair 4.7.4 changes the default layer download location
  7. 2y agoClairClair 4.7.3 requires TLS 1.2 or newer
  8. 2y agooVirt4.5.6 fixes CVE-2024-0822 in GWT session creation
  9. 2y agooVirt4.5.3.10 backports the GWT session security fix
  10. 2y agooVirt4.5.5 clears OVF import, template and image removal bugs
  11. 3y agoClairClair 4.7.2 drops the retired CRDA source
  12. 3y agooVirtbuild: ovirt-engine-4.5.3.9

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Clair and oVirt?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Clair is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Clair better than oVirt?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Clair is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Clair?

Top Clair alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Clair alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/clair for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to oVirt?

Top oVirt alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "oVirt alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/ovirt for the full list with editorial commentary on each.