SV-242381r1043176: The Kubernetes Controller Manager must create unique service accounts for each work payload. | Kubernetes STIG SCAP Benchmark

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Assessment Title

Rule Text

The Kubernetes Controller Manager must create unique service accounts for each work payload.

Description

Discussion Text

The Kubernetes Controller Manager is a background process that embeds core control loops regulating cluster system state through the API Server. Every process executed in a pod has an associated service account. By default, service accounts use the same credentials for authentication. Implementing the default settings poses a High risk to the Kubernetes Controller Manager. Setting the "--use-service-account-credential" value lowers the attack surface by generating unique service accounts settings for each controller instance.

How this relates to the STIG checklist: STIG vs SCAP benchmark.

IA Controls

NIST SP 800-53

Not mappedCCI-000015

References

DPMS Target Kubernetes DISA DPMS Target Kubernetes 5376

Checks

DISA STIG (Manual Reference)

Change to the /etc/kubernetes/manifests directory on the Kubernetes Control Plane. Run the command:

grep -i use-service-account-credentials * 

If the setting "--use-service-account-credentials" is not configured in the Kubernetes Controller Manager manifest file or it is set to "false", this is a finding.

SCC Automation Reference

The reconstructed evaluation script behind this rule's OVAL check(s) — every module a compound check combines, with this rule's own concrete values and DISA's SCC tool's real per-module mechanism curated from static teardown of SCC releases.

#!/bin/bash
# Reconstructed from oval:mil.disa.stig.kubernetes:def:242381
# The Kubernetes Controller Manager must create unique service accounts for each work payload.
# Per-module read mechanism curated from static teardown of DISA's SCC tool
# (SCAP Compliance Checker) -- see the SCC Automation Reference above.

# textfilecontent54_object (textfilecontent54_test)
test_1() {
  (sed -En 's/use-service-account-credentials=([\w]+)/\1/p' '/etc/kubernetes/manifests/kube-controller-manager.yaml') | grep -qxF 'true'
}

if test_1; then
  echo "PASS"
else
  echo "FAIL"
fi

Assessment Script Powered by AISandbox-executed

A standalone Shell script to assess this control automatically. Review before running it in your environment.

Syntax-checked and actually executed in an isolated sandbox (not the real system this checks) — confirmed to run without errors.

#!/bin/sh
# OVAL Definition: oval:mil.disa.stig.kubernetes:def:242381


if [ ! -f "/etc/kubernetes/manifests/kube-controller-manager.yaml" ]; then
  echo "PASS"
  exit 0
fi

if grep -q "^use-service-account-credentials=true$" /etc/kubernetes/manifests/kube-controller-manager.yaml; then
  echo "PASS"
  exit 0
else
  echo "FAIL"
  exit 1
fi

Remediation

Edit the Kubernetes Controller Manager manifest file in the /etc/kubernetes/manifests directory on the Kubernetes Control Plane.

Set the value of "--use-service-account-credentials" to "true".