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Kubernetes Threat Model Questions

Practice questions for Kubernetes Threat Model topic in Kubernetes and Cloud Native Security Associate. 32 questions covering this domain.

32 questions7 easy16 medium9 hard
Q1
hard

A security reviewer sees that a user has get access on nodes/proxy. Why is this more dangerous than it first appears?

Q2
medium

Why is granting permission to create Pods or workload resources in a namespace considered a privilege-escalation risk?

Q3
easy

In normal Kubernetes operation, which control plane component do nodes and Pods talk to remotely when using the cluster API?

Q4
medium

A multi-tenant cluster allows semi-trusted users to create many objects, and the operator is worried about object-creation denial of service. Which bu...

Q5
medium

Which RBAC grant is enough to reveal Secret contents even if get permission was never granted?

Q6
hard

Why do Kubernetes RBAC good practices strongly advise against adding ordinary users to the system:masters group?

Q7
medium

Which permission is risky because it allows issuing tokens for existing ServiceAccounts?

Q8
hard

A namespace editor can patch Namespace labels in a cluster that uses Pod Security Admission. What is the main security concern?

Q9
medium

A threat reviewer notices that a low-privilege user has `create` access to Pods in a namespace and the namespace allows `hostPath` volumes. Why is thi...

Q10
hard

An organization is mapping cloud native attacks to a structured framework so it can plan detections per technique. Which framework explicitly enumerat...

Q11
easy

A threat actor includes a hidden malicious binary in a base image used by a public team. Where in the supply chain is this risk introduced?

Q12
medium

Granting a user the `pods/exec` subresource verb appears innocuous because it does not grant `create pods`. Why is it nevertheless a high-risk privile...

Q13
easy

An attacker deploys an unauthorized Pod that consumes large amounts of CPU and memory to mine cryptocurrency. Which threat category does this represen...

Q14
hard

A reviewer sees that a low-privilege user can create DaemonSets in a namespace. From a threat-model perspective, why is this effectively cluster-wide ...

Q15
medium

An attacker who has stolen credentials with broad permissions registers a MutatingAdmissionWebhook that injects a sidecar into every new Pod. Which th...

Q16
medium

An attacker compromises the credentials of a CI/CD service account that can push images to the production registry. Which mitigation most directly con...

Q17
medium

A developer can create Pods in a namespace but cannot read Secrets there. Why is this still risky?

Q18
easy

Which access path can let a caller bypass admission and audit if it is reached directly?

Q19
hard

Why is running kube-controller-manager with use-service-account-credentials a useful hardening measure?

Q20
medium

Which statement about static Pods is relevant to the cluster threat model?

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