Kubernetes Security Policies

Comprehensive guide for implementing NetworkPolicy, PodSecurityPolicy, RBAC, and Pod Security Standards in Kubernetes.

Do not use this skill when

• The task is unrelated to kubernetes security policies
• You need a different domain or tool outside this scope

Instructions

• Clarify goals, constraints, and required inputs.
• Apply relevant best practices and validate outcomes.
• Provide actionable steps and verification.

Purpose

Implement defense-in-depth security for Kubernetes clusters using network policies, pod security standards, and RBAC.

Use this skill when

• Implement network segmentation
• Configure pod security standards
• Set up RBAC for least-privilege access
• Create security policies for compliance
• Implement admission control
• Secure multi-tenant clusters

Pod Security Standards

1. Privileged (Unrestricted)

apiVersion: v1
kind: Namespace
metadata:
  name: privileged-ns
  labels:
    pod-security.kubernetes.io/enforce: privileged
    pod-security.kubernetes.io/audit: privileged
    pod-security.kubernetes.io/warn: privileged

2. Baseline (Minimally restrictive)

apiVersion: v1
kind: Namespace
metadata:
  name: baseline-ns
  labels:
    pod-security.kubernetes.io/enforce: baseline
    pod-security.kubernetes.io/audit: baseline
    pod-security.kubernetes.io/warn: baseline

3. Restricted (Most restrictive)

apiVersion: v1
kind: Namespace
metadata:
  name: restricted-ns
  labels:
    pod-security.kubernetes.io/enforce: restricted
    pod-security.kubernetes.io/audit: restricted
    pod-security.kubernetes.io/warn: restricted

Network Policies

Default Deny All

apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: NetworkPolicy
metadata:
  name: default-deny-all
  namespace: production
spec:
  podSelector: {}
  policyTypes:
  - Ingress
  - Egress

Allow Frontend to Backend

apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: NetworkPolicy
metadata:
  name: allow-frontend-to-backend
  namespace: production
spec:
  podSelector:
    matchLabels:
      app: backend
  policyTypes:
  - Ingress
  ingress:
  - from:
    - podSelector:
        matchLabels:
          app: frontend
    ports:
    - protocol: TCP
      port: 8080

Allow DNS

apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: NetworkPolicy
metadata:
  name: allow-dns
  namespace: production
spec:
  podSelector: {}
  policyTypes:
  - Egress
  egress:
  - to:
    - namespaceSelector:
        matchLabels:
          name: kube-system
    ports:
    - protocol: UDP
      port: 53

Reference: See assets/network-policy-template.yaml

RBAC Configuration

Role (Namespace-scoped)

apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: Role
metadata:
  name: pod-reader
  namespace: production
rules:
- apiGroups: [""]
  resources: ["pods"]
  verbs: ["get", "watch", "list"]

ClusterRole (Cluster-wide)

apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: ClusterRole
metadata:
  name: secret-reader
rules:
- apiGroups: [""]
  resources: ["secrets"]
  verbs: ["get", "watch", "list"]

RoleBinding

apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: RoleBinding
metadata:
  name: read-pods
  namespace: production
subjects:
- kind: User
  name: jane
  apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io
- kind: ServiceAccount
  name: default
  namespace: production
roleRef:
  kind: Role
  name: pod-reader
  apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io

Reference: See references/rbac-patterns.md

Pod Security Context

Restricted Pod

apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: secure-pod
spec:
  securityContext:
    runAsNonRoot: true
    runAsUser: 1000
    fsGroup: 1000
    seccompProfile:
      type: RuntimeDefault
  containers:
  - name: app
    image: myapp:1.0
    securityContext:
      allowPrivilegeEscalation: false
      readOnlyRootFilesystem: true
      capabilities:
        drop:
        - ALL

Policy Enforcement with OPA Gatekeeper

ConstraintTemplate

apiVersion: templates.gatekeeper.sh/v1
kind: ConstraintTemplate
metadata:
  name: k8srequiredlabels
spec:
  crd:
    spec:
      names:
        kind: K8sRequiredLabels
      validation:
        openAPIV3Schema:
          type: object
          properties:
            labels:
              type: array
              items:
                type: string
  targets:
    - target: admission.k8s.gatekeeper.sh
      rego: |
        package k8srequiredlabels
        violation[{"msg": msg, "details": {"missing_labels": missing}}] {
          provided := {label | input.review.object.metadata.labels[label]}
          required := {label | label := input.parameters.labels[_]}
          missing := required - provided
          count(missing) > 0
          msg := sprintf("missing required labels: %v", [missing])
        }

Constraint

apiVersion: constraints.gatekeeper.sh/v1beta1
kind: K8sRequiredLabels
metadata:
  name: require-app-label
spec:
  match:
    kinds:
      - apiGroups: ["apps"]
        kinds: ["Deployment"]
  parameters:
    labels: ["app", "environment"]

Service Mesh Security (Istio)

PeerAuthentication (mTLS)

apiVersion: security.istio.io/v1beta1
kind: PeerAuthentication
metadata:
  name: default
  namespace: production
spec:
  mtls:
    mode: STRICT

AuthorizationPolicy

apiVersion: security.istio.io/v1beta1
kind: AuthorizationPolicy
metadata:
  name: allow-frontend
  namespace: production
spec:
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: backend
  action: ALLOW
  rules:
  - from:
    - source:
        principals: ["cluster.local/ns/production/sa/frontend"]

Best Practices

1. Implement Pod Security Standards at namespace level
2. Use Network Policies for network segmentation
3. Apply least-privilege RBAC for all service accounts
4. Enable admission control (OPA Gatekeeper/Kyverno)
5. Run containers as non-root
6. Use read-only root filesystem
7. Drop all capabilities unless needed
8. Implement resource quotas and limit ranges
9. Enable audit logging for security events
10. Regular security scanning of images

Compliance Frameworks

CIS Kubernetes Benchmark

• Use RBAC authorization
• Enable audit logging
• Use Pod Security Standards
• Configure network policies
• Implement secrets encryption at rest
• Enable node authentication

NIST Cybersecurity Framework

• Implement defense in depth
• Use network segmentation
• Configure security monitoring
• Implement access controls
• Enable logging and monitoring

Troubleshooting

NetworkPolicy not working:

# Check if CNI supports NetworkPolicy
kubectl get nodes -o wide
kubectl describe networkpolicy <name>

RBAC permission denied:

# Check effective permissions
kubectl auth can-i list pods --as system:serviceaccount:default:my-sa
kubectl auth can-i '*' '*' --as system:serviceaccount:default:my-sa

Reference Files

• assets/network-policy-template.yaml - Network policy examples
• references/rbac-patterns.md - RBAC configuration patterns

Related Skills

• k8s-manifest-generator - For creating secure manifests
• gitops-workflow - For automated policy deployment