A cloud security analyst is concerned about security vulnerabilities in publicly available container images. Which of the following is the most appropriate action for the analyst to recommend?

CIS-hardened images are pre-configured to meet the security recommendations of the Center for Internet Security (CIS) Benchmarks, which specify secure configurations for operating systems, applications, and containers. This approach directly reduces known vulnerabilities by starting with a more secure base image.

Watermarked images are primarily used for copyright protection or tracking origin, not for addressing security vulnerabilities within the image's software components.

Digitally signed images ensure image integrity and authenticity, guaranteeing the image hasn't been tampered with and comes from a trusted source, but they do not inherently guarantee that the image is free from vulnerabilities.

An application firewall protects the running application from network-based attacks but does not address vulnerabilities present within the container image's operating system or installed software components themselves.