Kubernetes Security Technical Implementation Guide

The Kubernetes Security Technical Implementation Guide (V2 R6) has 92 STIG checks. New to STIG checklists? Read What is a STIG checklist?, CKL vs CKLB, and STIG vs SCAP benchmark.

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Severity

Version

V2 · R6

CurrentPublished Wed Apr 01 2026

The Kubernetes PKI keys must have file permissions set to 600 or more restrictive.

Kubernetes Security Technical Implementation Guide

Assessment Title

Rule Text

The Kubernetes PKI keys must have file permissions set to 600 or more restrictive.

Description

Discussion Text

The Kubernetes PKI directory contains all certificate key files supporting secure network communications in the Kubernetes Control Plane. If these files can be modified, data traversing within the architecture components would become unsecure and compromised.

New to STIG checklists? Read What is a STIG checklist? and CKL vs CKLB.

Objective

V-242467

Rule

SV-242467r961863_rule

Severity

medium

Rule Version

CNTR-K8-003340

Documentable

false

IA Controls

NIST SP 800-53

Rev 5

Assessment Procedure

Check Text

Review the permissions of the Kubernetes PKI key files by using the command:

sudo find /etc/kubernetes/pki -name "*.key" | xargs stat -c '%n %a'

If any of the files have permissions more permissive than "600", this is a finding.

Implementation Procedure

Fix Text

Change the ownership of the key files to "600" by executing the command: 

find /etc/kubernetes/pki -name "*.key" | xargs chmod 600

STIG check 83 of 92 in the Kubernetes STIG checklist

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