> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://cortex-docs.paloaltonetworks.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://cortex-docs.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex-xsiam/cloud-security/container-registry-scanning/how-container-registry-scanning-works.md). # How Container Registry Scanning Works Learn how Cortex XSIAM discovers, scans, and evaluates container images in onboarded registries to identify and continuously monitor security risks. Container Registry Scanning continuously monitors container images in your onboarded registries for security risks. After you onboard a registry, Cortex XSIAM automatically discovers new and updated images, scans them, and evaluates the results against the latest threat intelligence. The process of container registry scanning consists of three key phases: 1. **Discovery**: The connector automatically discovers registries, repositories, and image tags across the onboarded account. 2. **Scanning**: The connector scans newly discovered or updated images and extracts software bills of materials (SBOMs), secrets, and malware indicators. To reduce bandwidth and compute usage, the connector scans immutable container images only once. The connector rescans an image if the scanning engines are updated or if the previous scan failed. 3. **Evaluation**: Extracted artifact metadata is evaluated against current threat intelligence to identify vulnerabilities, secrets, and malware. Findings and risk scores are re-evaluated dynamically whenever new CVE data is published, without needing to re-download or rescan the container image. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter: ``` GET https://cortex-docs.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex-xsiam/cloud-security/container-registry-scanning/how-container-registry-scanning-works.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.