What is CNAPP?
A Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) is a product category, named by Gartner, that bundles the tools needed to secure modern cloud and Kubernetes environments: cloud posture (CSPM), Kubernetes posture (KSPM), container and image vulnerability scanning, infrastructure-as-code scanning, identity risk, and runtime threat detection. The point of a CNAPP is unified context: one graph that connects a CVE in an image to the pod that runs it to the IAM role that pod assumes.
What a CNAPP includes
- CSPM: cloud provider posture (IAM, S3/GCS/Azure Blob, VPC, security groups).
- KSPM: Kubernetes posture (RBAC, Pod Security Standards, admission, network policies).
- CWPP: Cloud Workload Protection (vulnerability scanning, SBOM, container image hardening).
- IaC scanning: Terraform, Helm, Kustomize, CloudFormation policy checks at PR time.
- CIEM: Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (who can do what across IAM and Kubernetes RBAC).
- Runtime / CDR: eBPF or syscall-based runtime threat detection and, in some cases, enforcement.
Why teams consolidate on a CNAPP
Before CNAPP, a security team often ran separate products for cloud posture, container scanning, runtime, IaC scanning, and Kubernetes posture. That meant multiple dashboards, multiple alert queues, and no shared context. A critical CVE in an image did not connect to the pod running that image, which did not connect to the over-permissive RBAC that made it dangerous.
A CNAPP fuses those data sources into a single graph. That shared graph is what makes attack path analysis possible and why prioritization starts working: the platform knows which CVEs are exploitable, not just which ones exist.
How to evaluate a CNAPP for Kubernetes-first environments
Most CNAPPs started as cloud-first products with Kubernetes added later. For teams whose critical workloads live in Kubernetes, the weighting is different:
- Graph depth. Can the platform traverse Pod → Container → Image → CVE → ServiceAccount → RoleBinding → ClusterRole in one query?
- KSPM coverage. CIS Kubernetes, NSA/CISA, Pod Security Standards baseline and restricted out of the box?
- Admission control. Bundled webhook, or does it require a separate Kyverno or Gatekeeper install?
- Runtime signal. eBPF-based detection without a sidecar per pod?
- Multi-tenancy. Per-customer data isolation for MSPs or platform teams.
Juliet as a Kubernetes-first CNAPP
Juliet was built Kubernetes-first. Every feature (attack paths, compliance, admission control, runtime detection) operates against the same graph, so context does not get lost between tools. Cloud posture is covered via optional cloud collectors (AWS today, GCP and Azure on the roadmap). For a team running the majority of its workloads on Kubernetes, Juliet replaces the KSPM, image scanning, admission, and runtime detection pieces of a traditional CNAPP in one product.
Frequently asked about what is cnapp?
Is CNAPP the same as CSPM?
No. CSPM is one component of a CNAPP. A CNAPP always includes posture (CSPM and KSPM) plus workload protection (vulnerabilities, runtime) and usually IaC and identity.
Do I still need a separate EDR if I have a CNAPP?
For endpoint devices, yes. CNAPPs protect cloud and Kubernetes workloads, not user laptops. Some CNAPPs extend to VM runtime, but the focus is containers and serverless.
How is a CNAPP different from a SIEM?
A SIEM aggregates logs and alerts. A CNAPP generates the security signal by continuously evaluating cloud and Kubernetes posture and runtime behavior. It is common to ship CNAPP alerts to a SIEM for long-term retention and cross-tool correlation.
Do CNAPPs replace container image scanners like Trivy or Grype?
A full CNAPP has image scanning built in. Many use Grype or Syft under the hood. The difference is context: a CNAPP tells you which CVE is running in production on an internet-exposed pod. A raw scanner tells you the CVE exists.
Is CNAPP only for large enterprises?
No. Several CNAPPs have free tiers for small clusters. Juliet's Starter tier covers one cluster at no cost. The core problem a CNAPP solves, ranking findings so a small team can act on the ones that matter, applies to any organization running production Kubernetes, regardless of size.
See this in your clusters
Juliet maps your Kubernetes security posture as a graph and ranks findings by reachable attack paths, not just CVSS. Free tier, five-minute setup, no credit card.