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Kubernetes Kubelet must enable tlsPrivateKeyFile for client authentication to secure service.

Overview

Finding IDVersionRule IDIA ControlsSeverity
V-242424CNTR-K8-001460SV-242424r1043178_ruleCCI-001184medium
Description
Kubernetes container and pod configuration are maintained by Kubelet. Kubelet agents register nodes with the API Server, mount volume storage, and perform health checks for containers and pods. Anyone who gains access to Kubelet agents can effectively control applications within the pods and containers. Using authenticity protection, the communication can be protected against man-in-the-middle attacks/session hijacking and the insertion of false information into sessions. The communication session is protected by utilizing transport encryption protocols such as TLS. TLS provides the Kubernetes API Server with a means to authenticate sessions and encrypt traffic. To enable encrypted communication for Kubelet, the tlsPrivateKeyFile must be set. This parameter gives the location of the SSL Certificate Authority file used to secure Kubelet communication.
STIGDate
Kubernetes Security Technical Implementation Guide2025-05-16

Related Frameworks

1 mapping across 4 frameworks
SCF0 mappings

No source states a mapping between these directly.

Also reachable in 3 hops (1) derived by us, not asserted by any source

Each of these is a route we composed by chaining published mappings. No publisher states a relationship between the two endpoints.

NET-09Session Integrity
1.00
NIST 800-530 mappings

No source states a mapping between these directly.

Also reachable in 2 hops (30) derived by us, not asserted by any source

Each of these is a route we composed by chaining published mappings. No publisher states a relationship between the two endpoints.

AC-17(2)Protection of Confidentiality and Integrity Using Encryption
1.00
AU-10(1)Association of Identities
1.00
AU-10(2)Validate Binding of Information Producer Identity
1.00
AU-9(3)Cryptographic Protection
1.00
CM-14Signed Components
1.00
CM-5(3)Signed Components
1.00
CM-6Configuration Settings
1.00
CM-7Least Functionality
1.00
IA-2(1)Multi-factor Authentication to Privileged Accounts
1.00
IA-2(12)Acceptance of PIV Credentials
1.00

+20 more (top 10 by confidence shown)

NIST 800-1710 mappings

No source states a mapping between these directly.

Also reachable in 3 hops (1) derived by us, not asserted by any source

Each of these is a route we composed by chaining published mappings. No publisher states a relationship between the two endpoints.

3.13.15
1.00
CCI1 mapping
CCI-001184
1.00

Details

Check Text (C-242424r1043178_chk)

On the Control Plane, run the command: ps -ef | grep kubelet If the "--tls-private-key-file" option exists, this is a finding. Note the path to the config file (identified by --config). Run the command: grep -i tlsPrivateKeyFile <path_to_config_file> If the setting "tlsPrivateKeyFile" is not set or contains no value, this is a finding.

Fix Text (F-45657r918181_fix)

On the Control Plane, run the command: ps -ef | grep kubelet Remove the "--tls-private-key-file" option if present. Note the path to the config file (identified by --config). Edit the Kubernetes Kubelet config file: Set "tlsPrivateKeyFile" to a path containing the appropriate private key. Restart the kubelet service using the following command: systemctl daemon-reload && systemctl restart kubelet