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Enable all EKS control plane log types (API server, audit, authenticator, controller manager, scheduler) so cluster activity is captured. Audit logging being disabled leaves security-relevant events unrecorded.

Risk Level

High

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

Manual Steps

  1. List clusters and choose target(s)
    • On any machine with AWS CLI access:
    • For each cluster you operate, note the regions and cluster names that must comply with this control.
  2. Review current control plane logging configuration
    • For each cluster, on any machine with AWS CLI access:
    • Confirm whether the types array includes all of api, audit, authenticator, controllerManager, scheduler and that they are shown with "enabled": true.
  3. Decide scope and retention strategy
    • Confirm with your security/operations stakeholders:
      • Which clusters must have all control plane log types enabled.
      • The destination and retention for these logs (e.g., CloudWatch log group, log retention policy, access controls).
    • Verify existing log groups and retention:
  4. Enable all EKS control plane log types where required
    • For each cluster needing remediation, on any machine with AWS CLI access:
    • Be aware this change affects the managed control plane; it does not require node restarts but will increase log volume and associated CloudWatch costs.
  5. Verify that logging is fully enabled
    • Re-run the audit on any machine with AWS CLI access:
    • Confirm all five types (api, audit, authenticator, controllerManager, scheduler) appear with "enabled": true and no conflicting "enabled": false entries.
  6. Confirm logs are being received and are usable
    • In the AWS console, for each cluster:
      • Open CloudWatch Logs and locate log groups starting with /aws/eks/CLUSTER_NAME.
      • Confirm that new log streams are appearing and that recent events exist for API, audit, and authenticator activity.
    • Optionally from CLI, spot-check entries:
kubectl cannot enable or configure EKS control plane audit logs, because these settings are managed on the AWS control plane (via the AWS console, CLI, or IaC), not through Kubernetes API objects. Use kubectl only to inspect workload state if needed; perform the actual remediation using the steps in the Manual Steps section.
How to interpret the output
  • Focus on the STATUS column:
    • OK – all five log types (API, AUDIT, AUTH, CTRL-MGR, SCHEDULER) are enabled.
    • MISSING – at least one of the required log types is disabled; this indicates a problem that needs manual review and remediation via the AWS Console or aws eks update-cluster-config.