Back to Home

Kubernetes Security

Comprehensive Guide to Cloud-Native Security Best Practices

Why Kubernetes Security Matters

Kubernetes security is multi-layered and complex. From securing the control plane to protecting workloads, certificates, secrets, and network traffic—every layer requires careful attention. A single misconfiguration can expose your entire cluster to threats. This guide covers all critical security aspects with actionable best practices and real-world implementations.

67%

Of breaches involve misconfigurations

80%

Of clusters have exposed secrets

75%

Lack proper RBAC policies

60%

Don't use network policies

Security Domains

Explore detailed guides for each security aspect of your Kubernetes cluster

RBAC & Access Control

Implement Role-Based Access Control to restrict cluster access. Define granular permissions for users, service accounts, and workloads.

CRITICAL

Image Scanning & Registry Security

Scan container images for vulnerabilities. Implement image signing, trusted registries, and admission controllers.

CRITICAL

Certificate Management

Manage TLS certificates, certificate rotation, and PKI infrastructure. Secure communication between cluster components.

IMPORTANT

Secrets & Token Management

Encrypt secrets at rest, use external secret stores (Vault, AWS Secrets Manager), and implement secure token handling.

CRITICAL

Network Policies

Control pod-to-pod communication, implement zero-trust networking, and use service mesh for advanced traffic management.

IMPORTANT

Pod Security Standards

Implement Pod Security Standards (PSS), security contexts, and admission policies to restrict pod privileges.

CRITICAL

API Server Hardening

Secure the Kubernetes API server with authentication, authorization, admission controllers, and audit logging.

IMPORTANT

etcd Encryption & Backup

Encrypt etcd data at rest, secure peer communication, implement backup strategies, and disaster recovery plans.

CRITICAL

Audit Logging & Monitoring

Enable comprehensive audit logs, implement monitoring with Falco, track suspicious activities, and set up alerts.

RECOMMENDED

Runtime Security & Threat Detection

Detect and respond to runtime threats with tools like Falco, Sysdig, and eBPF-based monitoring solutions.

RECOMMENDED

Compliance & Standards

Meet industry standards (CIS Benchmarks, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, SOC 2) and implement compliance automation.

RECOMMENDED

Supply Chain Security

Secure your CI/CD pipelines, implement SBOM, use Sigstore for signing, and verify artifact provenance.

IMPORTANT

Security Best Practices Quick Checklist

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) - Detailed Guide

RBAC is a critical security mechanism in Kubernetes that allows you to control who can access what resources and perform which actions. This section provides a comprehensive guide to implementing RBAC in your cluster.

1. Define Roles & Responsibilities

• Identify teams and projects
• Specify access requirements for resources (Pods, Deployments, ConfigMaps)
• Group permissions into roles (developer, admin, viewer)

2. Use Namespaces for Isolation

• Create separate namespaces for each team/project
• Assign namespace-specific roles using Role and RoleBinding
• Isolate resources and access by default

3. Create Service Accounts

• Assign service accounts to applications
• Create within relevant namespaces
• Better management and security tracking

4. Define Roles & ClusterRoles

• Use Role for namespace-scoped permissions
• Use ClusterRole for cluster-wide permissions
• Follow principle of least privilege

5. Bind Roles to Users

• Use RoleBinding for namespace assignments
• Use ClusterRoleBinding for cluster-wide roles
• Map subjects to roles explicitly

6. Implement Least Privilege

• Grant only necessary permissions
• Periodically review and audit permissions
• Align with current business needs

RBAC YAML Configuration Examples

Developer Role (Namespace-Scoped)

apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: Role
metadata:
  namespace: dev-team
  name: developer-role
rules:
- apiGroups: [""]
  resources: ["pods", "services", "configmaps"]
  verbs: ["get", "list", "create", "update", "delete"]
- apiGroups: ["apps"]
  resources: ["deployments", "statefulsets"]
  verbs: ["get", "list", "create", "update"]

RoleBinding for Developer Group

apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: RoleBinding
metadata:
  namespace: dev-team
  name: developer-binding
subjects:
- kind: Group
  name: dev-team-group
  apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io
roleRef:
  kind: Role
  name: developer-role
  apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io

ClusterRole for Admins (Cluster-Wide)

apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: ClusterRole
metadata:
  name: cluster-admin-role
rules:
- apiGroups: ["*"]
  resources: ["*"]
  verbs: ["*"]

ServiceAccount for Applications

apiVersion: v1
kind: ServiceAccount
metadata:
  name: app-service-account
  namespace: dev-team
---
apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: Role
metadata:
  namespace: dev-team
  name: app-reader
rules:
- apiGroups: [""]
  resources: ["configmaps", "secrets"]
  verbs: ["get", "list"]
---
apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: RoleBinding
metadata:
  namespace: dev-team
  name: app-reader-binding
subjects:
- kind: ServiceAccount
  name: app-service-account
  namespace: dev-team
roleRef:
  kind: Role
  name: app-reader
  apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io

RBAC Best Practices & Tips