The Default Namespace Should Not Be Used

More Info:

Kubernetes provides a default namespace, where objects are placed if no namespace is specified for them. Placing objects in this namespace makes application of RBAC and other controls more difficult.

Risk Level

Low

Address

Security

Compliance Standards

APRA CPS 234 (Australia)
BSI C5 (Germany)
Brazil LGPD
CCPA / CPRA (California)
CIS Critical Security Controls v8
CIS EKS
CMMC 2.0
CSA Cloud Controls Matrix v4
DPDPA
Digital Operational Resilience Act (EU)
Essential 8
ISO/IEC 27017
ISO/IEC 27018
ISO/IEC 27701
KSA PDPL
MAS Technology Risk Management (Singapore)
MITRE ATT&CK (Cloud)
NIS2 Directive
NIST SP 800-171
NYDFS 23 NYCRR 500
SWIFT Customer Security Controls Framework
Sarbanes-Oxley IT General Controls
UK NCSC Cyber Assessment Framework

Triage and Remediation

Remediation

Remediation

Manual Steps

List all user resources in the default namespace
Run on: any machine with kubectl access

kubectl get $(kubectl api-resources --verbs=list --namespaced=true -o name | paste -sd, -) \
  --ignore-not-found -n default

Decide target namespaces and create them if needed
For each logical application/group of resources, pick or create a dedicated namespace.
Example (adjust names as needed):
```
kubectl create namespace app-frontend
kubectl create namespace app-backend
```
If a namespace already exists, you do not need to recreate it:
```
kubectl get namespace
```
Export manifests of resources currently in the default namespace
Run once per resource type you want to move; redirect to files for review/edit.
Examples (adjust types as needed based on step 1 output):
```
kubectl get deploy,sts,ds,svc,ing,cm,secret,sa,job,cronjob -n default -o yaml > default-workloads.yaml
kubectl get pvc -n default -o yaml > default-pvc.yaml
```
Review these files in an editor and for each object:
- Change metadata.namespace: default to the desired namespace.
- Adjust names/labels/annotations if you need to separate apps into different namespaces.
- For ServiceAccountName, ConfigMap, Secret, RoleBinding, etc., ensure referenced objects will also exist in the new namespace.

Recreate resources in their new namespaces
After editing the exported files, apply them:

kubectl apply -f default-workloads.yaml
kubectl apply -f default-pvc.yaml

Confirm they exist in the new namespaces:

kubectl get all -n app-frontend
kubectl get all -n app-backend

Delete migrated resources from the default namespace
Only after confirming that workloads are running correctly in their new namespaces, delete the originals.
Example (adjust types/names as needed; you can use --all where appropriate):
```
kubectl delete deploy,sts,ds,svc,ing,cm,secret,sa,job,cronjob -n default --all
kubectl delete pvc -n default --all
```
Be careful not to delete any system-created objects; inspect with:
```
kubectl get all,cm,secret,sa,role,rolebinding,pvc -n default
```

Verification (no user resources left in default namespace)
Run on: any machine with kubectl access

output=$(kubectl get $(kubectl api-resources --verbs=list --namespaced=true -o name | paste -sd, -) --ignore-not-found -n default 2>/dev/null | grep -v "^kubernetes ")
if [ -z "$output" ]; then
  echo "NO_USER_RESOURCES_IN_DEFAULT"
else
  echo "USER_RESOURCES_IN_DEFAULT_FOUND: $output"
fi

Using kubectl

On any machine with kubectl access:

Identify all user resources in the default namespace

kubectl get $(kubectl api-resources --verbs=list --namespaced=true -o name | paste -sd, -) \
  --ignore-not-found -n default \
  -o wide

For each application, create a dedicated namespace (example: my-app)

cat << 'EOF' | kubectl apply -f -
apiVersion: v1
kind: Namespace
metadata:
  name: my-app
EOF

Export and re-apply namespaced resources into the new namespace
(adapt my-app and resource selectors as needed)

# Example: move deployments, services, configmaps, secrets for one app label
kubectl get deploy,svc,configmap,secret \
  -n default -l app=my-app \
  -o yaml \
| sed 's/namespace: default/namespace: my-app/g' \
| sed '/^\s*uid:/d;/^\s*resourceVersion:/d;/^\s*creationTimestamp:/d;/^\s*selfLink:/d;/^\s*managedFields:/d' \
| kubectl apply -f -

Delete the old copies from the default namespace
(ensure the app is healthy in the new namespace first)

kubectl delete deploy,svc,configmap,secret \
  -n default -l app=my-app

Repeat steps 2–4 for each application currently using the default namespace, choosing an appropriate namespace name and label selector.

(Optional) Add a warning label/annotation to discourage use of default namespace

kubectl label namespace default usage=discouraged --overwrite
kubectl annotate namespace default \
  "note=do-not-deploy-user-workloads-here" \
  --overwrite

Verification

output=$(kubectl get $(kubectl api-resources --verbs=list --namespaced=true -o name | paste -sd, -) --ignore-not-found -n default 2>/dev/null | grep -v "^kubernetes ")
if [ -z "$output" ]; then
  echo "NO_USER_RESOURCES_IN_DEFAULT"
else
  echo "USER_RESOURCES_IN_DEFAULT_FOUND: $output"
fi

Automation

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

# Automation for: "The Default Namespace Should Not Be Used"
# Scope: run on any machine with kubectl access and correct context.
#
# Behavior:
# - Detect all namespaced resources currently in the "default" namespace
# - For each resource, interactively choose a non-default target namespace
#   (creating it if necessary)
# - Move the resource by exporting manifest, adjusting metadata.namespace
#   and metadata.annotations, then re-creating in the target namespace
#   and deleting the original
# - Safe to re-run: already-moved resources will not be in "default"
# - Final verification uses the benchmark's audit logic

# --------------- helper functions ---------------

require_kubectl() {
  if ! command -v kubectl >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    echo "ERROR: kubectl not found in PATH" >&2
    exit 1
  fi
}

prompt_namespace() {
  local current_ns="$1"
  local target_ns
  while true; do
    read -r -p "Enter target namespace for resources currently in '${current_ns}' (not 'default'): " target_ns
    target_ns="${target_ns:-}"
    if [[ -z "${target_ns}" ]]; then
      echo "Namespace cannot be empty."
      continue
    fi
    if [[ "${target_ns}" == "default" ]]; then
      echo "Target namespace must not be 'default'."
      continue
    fi
    echo "${target_ns}"
    return 0
  done
}

ensure_namespace_exists() {
  local ns="$1"
  if ! kubectl get namespace "${ns}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    echo "Creating namespace '${ns}'..."
    kubectl create namespace "${ns}"
  else
    echo "Namespace '${ns}' already exists."
  fi
}

move_resource() {
  local kind="$1"
  local name="$2"
  local src_ns="$3"
  local dst_ns="$4"

  echo "Moving ${kind}/${name} from namespace '${src_ns}' to '${dst_ns}'..."

  # Export the resource as YAML, strip status, cluster-specific fields,
  # and force target namespace.
  tmpfile="$(mktemp)"
  trap 'rm -f "${tmpfile}"' RETURN

  if ! kubectl get "${kind}" "${name}" -n "${src_ns}" -o yaml > "${tmpfile}"; then
    echo "  WARN: Failed to get ${kind}/${name} in namespace '${src_ns}', skipping."
    return 0
  fi

  # Clean up fields that prevent re-creation and adjust namespace
  # - remove status
  # - remove metadata fields that should not be re-applied
  # - set metadata.namespace to dst_ns
  # Using yq would be nicer but we assume only kubectl and core tools.
  # Do minimal, robust transforms with sed/awk.
  cleaned="$(mktemp)"
  trap 'rm -f "${tmpfile}" "${cleaned}"' RETURN

  awk '
    $1=="status:"{in_status=1}
    !in_status{print}
    in_status && NF==0{in_status=0}
  ' "${tmpfile}" > "${cleaned}"

  # Remove certain metadata fields (uid, resourceVersion, etc.)
  # This is a best-effort textual cleanup.
  sed -i '/^[[:space:]]*uid:/d' "${cleaned}"
  sed -i '/^[[:space:]]*resourceVersion:/d' "${cleaned}"
  sed -i '/^[[:space:]]*generation:/d' "${cleaned}"
  sed -i '/^[[:space:]]*creationTimestamp:/d' "${cleaned}"
  sed -i '/^[[:space:]]*managedFields:/,/^[^[:space:]]/d' "${cleaned}"

  # Set / override namespace in metadata
  if grep -q '^[[:space:]]*namespace:' "${cleaned}"; then
    sed -i "s/^\([[:space:]]*namespace:\).*/\1 ${dst_ns}/" "${cleaned}"
  else
    # Insert namespace under metadata:
    awk -v ns="${dst_ns}" '
      /^metadata:[[:space:]]*$/ && !added {
        print $0
        print "  namespace: " ns
        added=1
        next
      }
      {print}
    ' "${cleaned}" > "${cleaned}.ns" && mv "${cleaned}.ns" "${cleaned}"
  fi

  # Annotate that this was moved from default (best-effort)
  if ! grep -q 'annotations:' "${cleaned}"; then
    awk '
      /^metadata:[[:space:]]*$/ && !added {
        print $0
        print "  annotations:"
        print "    moved-from-default-namespace: \"true\""
        added=1
        next
      }
      {print}
    ' "${cleaned}" > "${cleaned}.ann" && mv "${cleaned}.ann" "${cleaned}"
  else
    awk '
      /^  annotations:[[:space:]]*$/ && !added {
        print $0
        print "    moved-from-default-namespace: \"true\""
        added=1
        next
      }
      {print}
    ' "${cleaned}" > "${cleaned}.ann" && mv "${cleaned}.ann" "${cleaned}"
  fi

  # Apply into target namespace
  if ! kubectl apply -f "${cleaned}" --namespace "${dst_ns}"; then
    echo "  ERROR: Failed to create ${kind}/${name} in namespace '${dst_ns}'. Original not deleted."
    return 1
  fi

  # Delete original
  kubectl delete "${kind}" "${name}" -n "${src_ns}" --ignore-not-found

  echo "  Moved ${kind}/${name} -> namespace '${dst_ns}'."
}

# --------------- main logic ---------------

require_kubectl

echo "Discovering namespaced resource types..."
resource_types="$(kubectl api-resources --verbs=list --namespaced=true -o name | paste -sd, -)"

if [[ -z "${resource_types}" ]]; then
  echo "No namespaced resource types discovered. Nothing to do."
  exit 0
fi

echo "Listing resources in the 'default' namespace..."
# Skip the default "kubernetes" service as per audit command
output_raw="$(kubectl get ${resource_types} --ignore-not-found -n default 2>/dev/null | grep -v '^kubernetes ' || true)"

if [[ -z "${output_raw}" ]]; then
  echo "No user-defined resources found in the 'default' namespace."
  exit 0
fi

echo "User-defined resources currently in 'default' namespace:"
echo "${output_raw}"
echo

target_ns="$(prompt_namespace "default")"
ensure_namespace_exists "${target_ns}"

echo
echo "Moving resources from 'default' to '${target_ns}'..."

# For each resource type, list names in default and move
IFS=',' read -r -a kinds <<< "${resource_types}"

for kind in "${kinds[@]}"; do
  # Get "kind/name" list; skip no-resources error
  mapfile -t lines < <(kubectl get "${kind}" -n default --ignore-not-found -o name 2>/dev/null || true)
  if [[ "${#lines[@]}" -eq 0 ]]; then
    continue
  fi
  for full in "${lines[@]}"; do
    # full is of form kind/name
    res_name="${full#*/}"
    move_resource "${kind}" "${res_name}" "default" "${target_ns}"
  done
done

echo
echo "Verifying that no user-defined resources remain in the 'default' namespace..."

verification_output="$(
  output=$(kubectl get $(kubectl api-resources --verbs=list --namespaced=true -o name | paste -sd, -) --ignore-not-found -n default 2>/dev/null | grep -v "^kubernetes " || true)
  if [ -z "$output" ]; then
    echo "NO_USER_RESOURCES_IN_DEFAULT"
  else
    echo "USER_RESOURCES_IN_DEFAULT_FOUND: $output"
  fi
)"

echo "Verification result: ${verification_output}"

if [[ "${verification_output}" == "NO_USER_RESOURCES_IN_DEFAULT" ]]; then
  echo "Success: default namespace no longer contains user-defined resources."
  exit 0
else
  echo "WARNING: Some resources remain in the default namespace. Review output above."
  exit 1
fi

More Info:​

Risk Level​

Address​

Compliance Standards​

Triage and Remediation​

Remediation​