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Kubernetes PSS (Restricted Profile)

Enforcement Level: Restricted  |  Scope: Workload Isolation  |  K8s Ver: v1.24+

Scope of Responsibility (Image vs. Runtime)

The Kubernetes Pod Security Standards (PSS) evaluate workload isolation. This audit verifies the static posture of the container image (e.g., verifying it does not require root, lacks setuid binaries, and drops capabilities natively). However, full PSS enforcement occurs at the Kubernetes Admission Controller. Operators must still explicitly declare the required securityContext parameters (like allowPrivilegeEscalation: false and runAsNonRoot: true) in their deployment manifests to successfully schedule this image.


Admission Controller Readiness

  • Policy Status ---

    READY
    Image is Restricted-Capable

  • Rules Satisfied --- 17 / 17

    Baseline + Restricted Policies

  • Blocking Violations ---

    0

    Requires Image Rebuild

Deployment Greenlight

This image is architecturally designed to satisfy the Kubernetes Restricted Pod Security Standard. It can be safely scheduled in highly regulated, multi-tenant environments without requesting PSP/PSA exceptions.


Policy Enforcement Matrix

ID Restriction Rule Impact Level Static Enforcement
1 HostProcess HIGH
2 Host Namespaces HIGH
3 Privileged Containers HIGH
4 Capabilities MEDIUM
5 HostPath Volumes MEDIUM
6 host ports HIGH
7 AppArmor HIGH
8 SELinux MEDIUM
9 /proc Mount Type MEDIUM
10 Seccomp MEDIUM
11 Sysctls MEDIUM
12 Volume Types LOW
13 Privilege Escalation MEDIUM
14 Running as Non-root MEDIUM
15 Running as Non-root user LOW
16 Seccomp LOW
17 Capabilities LOW

Why This Matters?

The Restricted Profile is the most stringent level of Kubernetes Pod security. Achieving image-level compliance here guarantees that your container:

  1. Is Invisible to the Host: Does not demand Host PID, IPC, or Network namespaces to function.
  2. Operates with Zero Privilege: Runs efficiently as a non-root user (USER openssl) and functions with all default Linux Capabilities dropped (ALL).
  3. Is Sandbox-Ready: Fully compatible with the RuntimeDefault seccomp profile to restrict the syscall attack surface.

For details on how operational duties are divided between Image Builders and Cluster Administrators, see the Cloud Native Shared Responsibility Model.