Kubernetes Security Posture Management (KSPM)

Continuously evaluates Kubernetes objects against a library of security best practices and benchmarks such as the CIS Kubernetes Benchmark. Scanners inspect YAML manifests, Helm charts, and live cluster state to detect drift from a secure baseline.

• Detects containers running as root or with privileged mode enabled
• Flags hostPath volumes that expose node filesystems
• Identifies missing seccomp or AppArmor profiles
• Validates readOnlyRootFilesystem and allowPrivilegeEscalation settings

Maps and analyzes the effective permissions granted by Roles, ClusterRoles, and their bindings to identify excessive or dangerous access. KSPM tools build graph-based visualizations of who can access what, surfacing toxic combinations like wildcard permissions on secrets or the ability to create pods that mount service account tokens.

• Detects ClusterAdmin bindings assigned to non-admin service accounts
• Identifies roles granting escalate or bind verbs that enable privilege escalation
• Flags overly permissive verbs and resources combinations
• Audits RoleBinding subjects to enforce least-privilege access

Maps cluster configurations to regulatory and industry frameworks, generating audit-ready evidence for standards such as PCI DSS, HIPAA, SOC 2, and NIST SP 800-190. KSPM translates abstract control requirements into specific, testable Kubernetes predicates.

• Automates evidence collection for network segmentation controls
• Validates encryption at rest for etcd and Secrets
• Checks audit logging configuration against compliance requirements
• Generates Vulnerability Exploitability eXchange (VEX) statements for false-positive suppression

Integrates with dynamic admission controllers to enforce security policies at the API server level before objects are persisted to etcd. Using webhooks compatible with Open Policy Agent (OPA) and Kyverno, KSPM shifts security enforcement left, blocking non-compliant resources at deployment time rather than merely alerting on them.

• Validates Pod Security Standards (PSS) at the restricted level
• Rejects images from untrusted registries using digest pinning
• Enforces mandatory resource limits and NetworkPolicy presence
• Mutates pods to inject default securityContext settings

Analyzes NetworkPolicy configurations and actual pod-to-pod communication flows to identify unintended network exposure. KSPM tools model the effective network segmentation, highlighting gaps where workloads can communicate in violation of a zero-trust architecture.

• Visualizes allowed ingress and egress paths between namespaces
• Detects pods with no NetworkPolicy applied (default-allow posture)
• Identifies overly broad ipBlock CIDR ranges in egress rules
• Validates that CNI plugins enforce policies correctly

Audits how sensitive configuration data is stored and accessed within the cluster. KSPM identifies Kubernetes Secrets that are stored unencrypted in etcd, exposed as environment variables, or accessible to overly broad service accounts, and recommends integration with external secrets stores.

• Detects secrets mounted as environment variables rather than files
• Flags secrets not encrypted with a KMS provider at the etcd layer
• Identifies service accounts with get/list/watch access to all secrets
• Recommends integration with HashiCorp Vault or cloud provider secret managers

The broader category from which KSPM inherits its core methodology. CSPM tools continuously assess cloud infrastructure (IaaS/PaaS) for misconfigurations, while KSPM applies the same principles specifically to Kubernetes control planes and node configurations.

• Detects publicly exposed S3 buckets and open security groups
• Often bundled with KSPM in unified platforms
• Governs the infrastructure underneath the cluster