Building secure, efficient, and reproducible container images is a core principle of cloud native application delivery. Kubernetes documentation and container security best practices emphasize minimizing image size, reducing attack surface, and ensuring deterministic builds. Option C fully aligns with these principles, making it the correct answer.

Multi-stage builds allow developers to separate the build environment from the runtime environment. Dependencies such as compilers, build tools, and temporary artifacts are used only in intermediate stages and excluded from the final image. This significantly reduces image size and limits the presence of unnecessary tools that could be exploited at runtime.

Pinning the base image to a specific digest ensures immutability and reproducibility. Tags such as latest can change over time, potentially introducing breaking changes or vulnerabilities without notice. By using a digest, teams guarantee that the same base image is used every time the image is built, which is essential for predictable behavior, security auditing, and reliable rollbacks.

Installing only necessary packages further reduces the attack surface. Every additional package increases the risk of vulnerabilities and expands the maintenance burden. Minimal images are faster to pull, quicker to start, and easier to scan for vulnerabilities. Kubernetes security guidance consistently recommends keeping container images as small and purpose-built as possible.

Option A is incorrect because using the latest tag undermines build determinism and traceability. Option B is incorrect because installing extra packages “just in case” contradicts the principle of minimalism and increases security risk. Option D is incorrect because avoiding multi-stage builds and installing unnecessary packages leads to larger, less secure images and is explicitly discouraged in cloud native best practices.

According to Kubernetes and CNCF security guidance, combining multi-stage builds, immutable image references, and minimal dependencies results in more secure, reliable, and maintainable container images. Therefore, option C represents the best and fully verified approach when building container images.