Kubernetes OWASP Top 10 – Security Checklist + Architecture Diagram

Estimated Reading Time: 6–8 min

This is a practical Kubernetes security checklist based on OWASP Top 10 risks—designed for engineers who want to quickly assess and secure their clusters.

👉 Use this as a quick audit, or integrate it into your platform standards.

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🧠 Kubernetes Security Model (Diagram)

          +----------------------+
          |     CI/CD Pipeline   |
          |  (Scan + Validate)   |
          +----------+-----------+
                     |
                     v
        +---------------------------+
        |   Kubernetes Cluster      |
        |---------------------------|
        |  API Server (Secure)      |
        |  RBAC (Least Privilege)   |
        |  Network Policies         |
        |  Secrets Management       |
        +-----------+---------------+
                    |
                    v
         +------------------------+
         |   Workloads (Pods)     |
         |  - Non-root containers |
         |  - Secure images       |
         +------------------------+
                    |
                    v
         +------------------------+
         |  Cloud IAM / Infra     |
         |  - Least privilege     |
         +------------------------+

👉 Security must be enforced at every layer, not just inside the cluster.

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✅ Kubernetes OWASP Security Checklist

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1. Workload Security

• ☐ Containers do NOT run as root
• ☐ Privileged mode is disabled
• ☐ SecurityContext enforced

securityContext:
  runAsNonRoot: true
  allowPrivilegeEscalation: false

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2. RBAC (Access Control)

• ☐ No use of cluster-admin
• ☐ Roles follow least privilege
• ☐ Access reviewed regularly

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3. Network Security

• ☐ Default deny network policies
• ☐ Only required services exposed

policyTypes:
- Ingress

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4. Secrets Management

• ☐ Secrets NOT stored in Git
• ☐ Encryption at rest enabled
• ☐ External secret manager used

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5. Image Security

• ☐ All images scanned before deploy
• ☐ Trusted registries only

trivy image my-app:latest

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6. Cluster Configuration

• ☐ API server is NOT public
• ☐ etcd access restricted

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7. Logging & Monitoring

• ☐ Audit logs enabled
• ☐ Metrics collected (Prometheus)
• ☐ Alerts configured

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8. CI/CD Security

• ☐ Pipeline includes security scans
• ☐ Signed images enforced

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9. Supply Chain Security

• ☐ Dependencies validated
• ☐ SBOM generated

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10. Cloud IAM Integration

• ☐ IAM roles use least privilege
• ☐ IRSA or equivalent used

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⚠️ Quick Risk Assessment

If you answered “No” to any of the above:

• 👉 You have a potential security gap
• 👉 Prioritize high-impact areas (RBAC, secrets, networking)

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🚀 Final Thoughts

Kubernetes security isn’t about complexity—it’s about consistency.

🔥 CloudChef Tip: The best security posture comes from simple controls applied everywhere.