> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://cloudanix.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Ensure Kubelet Configuration File Ownership Is Set Root

### More Info:

Ensure that the kubelet configuration file ownership is set to root:root.

### 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 OKE
* 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

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Remediation">
    ### Remediation

    <AccordionGroup>
      <Accordion title="Manual Steps" defaultOpen="true">
        1. On every worker node, confirm the actual kubelet configuration file path and its current ownership:

           ```bash theme={null}
           ls -l /var/lib/kubelet/config.yaml
           ```

        2. If the file exists and is not owned by root:root, change its ownership to root:root:

           ```bash theme={null}
           sudo chown root:root /var/lib/kubelet/config.yaml
           ```

        3. (Optional but recommended) Ensure file permissions are not overly permissive (example: 600):

           ```bash theme={null}
           sudo chmod 600 /var/lib/kubelet/config.yaml
           ```

        4. Repeat steps 1–3 on each worker node in the cluster.

        5. Verification on every worker node (adapted from the audit command, using the actual file path):

           ```bash theme={null}
           if test -e /var/lib/kubelet/config.yaml; then stat -c %U:%G /var/lib/kubelet/config.yaml; else echo "File not found"; fi
           ```

           The output must be:

           ```text theme={null}
           root:root
           ```
      </Accordion>

      <Accordion title="Using kubectl">
        kubectl cannot modify host-level file ownership, including `/var/lib/kubelet/config.yaml`; this must be corrected directly on every worker node via the operating system. Use the guidance in the Manual Steps section to adjust file ownership and then re-run the audit command to verify.
      </Accordion>

      <Accordion title="Automation">
        ```bash theme={null}
        #!/usr/bin/env bash
        #
        # Fix CIS OKE 3.1.4:
        # Ensure that the kubelet configuration file ownership is set to root:root.
        #
        # Run this script on every worker node as root.
        # It is safe to re-run; it will only adjust ownership if needed.

        set -euo pipefail

        KUBELET_CONFIG="/var/lib/kubelet/config.yaml"

        echo "=== CIS OKE 3.1.4: Kubelet config file ownership to root:root ==="
        echo "Target file: ${KUBELET_CONFIG}"
        echo

        # Check if file exists
        if [[ ! -e "${KUBELET_CONFIG}" ]]; then
          echo "File not found: ${KUBELET_CONFIG}"
          echo "No changes made on this node."
          exit 0
        fi

        # Show current ownership
        current_owner_group=$(stat -c '%U:%G' "${KUBELET_CONFIG}")
        echo "Current ownership: ${current_owner_group}"

        # Change ownership only if needed
        if [[ "${current_owner_group}" != "root:root" ]]; then
          echo "Updating ownership to root:root..."
          chown root:root "${KUBELET_CONFIG}"
        else
          echo "Ownership already correct; no change needed."
        fi

        # Verification
        echo
        echo "Verifying ownership after remediation..."
        verified_owner_group=$(stat -c '%U:%G' "${KUBELET_CONFIG}")
        echo "Verified ownership: ${verified_owner_group}"

        if [[ "${verified_owner_group}" != "root:root" ]]; then
          echo "FAIL: Ownership is not root:root after remediation." >&2
          exit 1
        fi

        echo "PASS: ${KUBELET_CONFIG} ownership is correctly set to root:root."
        ```
      </Accordion>
    </AccordionGroup>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

### Additional Reading:

* [https://kubernetes.io/docs/admin/authentication/#x509-client-certs](https://kubernetes.io/docs/admin/authentication/#x509-client-certs)