More Info:
Ensure that the kubelet configuration file ownership is set to root:root.Risk Level
LowAddress
SecurityCompliance Standards
- APRA CPS 234 (Australia)
- BSI C5 (Germany)
- Brazil LGPD
- CCPA / CPRA (California)
- CIS Critical Security Controls v8
- CIS OKE
- CMMC 2.0
- CSA Cloud Controls Matrix v4
- DPDPA
- Digital Operational Resilience Act (EU)
- Essential 8
- ISO/IEC 27017
- ISO/IEC 27018
- ISO/IEC 27701
- KSA PDPL
- MAS Technology Risk Management (Singapore)
- MITRE ATT&CK (Cloud)
- NIS2 Directive
- NIST SP 800-171
- NYDFS 23 NYCRR 500
- SWIFT Customer Security Controls Framework
- Sarbanes-Oxley IT General Controls
- UK NCSC Cyber Assessment Framework
Triage and Remediation
- Remediation
Remediation
Manual Steps
Manual Steps
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On every worker node, confirm the actual kubelet configuration file path and its current ownership:
-
If the file exists and is not owned by root:root, change its ownership to root:root:
-
(Optional but recommended) Ensure file permissions are not overly permissive (example: 600):
- Repeat steps 1–3 on each worker node in the cluster.
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Verification on every worker node (adapted from the audit command, using the actual file path):
The output must be:
Using kubectl
Using kubectl
kubectl cannot modify host-level file ownership, including
/var/lib/kubelet/config.yaml; this must be corrected directly on every worker node via the operating system. Use the guidance in the Manual Steps section to adjust file ownership and then re-run the audit command to verify.Automation
Automation

