STIGUI
V-242381CAT I — High severitySV-242381r1043176_rule

The Kubernetes Controller Manager must create unique service accounts for each work payload.

Rule version CNTR-K8-000220 · STIG v2 · 2026-02-12

Discussion

The Kubernetes Controller Manager is a background process that embeds core control loops regulating cluster system state through the API Server. Every process executed in a pod has an associated service account. By default, service accounts use the same credentials for authentication. Implementing the default settings poses a High risk to the Kubernetes Controller Manager. Setting the "--use-service-account-credential" value lowers the attack surface by generating unique service accounts settings for each controller instance.

Check

Change to the /etc/kubernetes/manifests directory on the Kubernetes Control Plane. Run the command:

grep -i use-service-account-credentials *

If the setting "--use-service-account-credentials" is not configured in the Kubernetes Controller Manager manifest file or it is set to "false", this is a finding.

Fix

Edit the Kubernetes Controller Manager manifest file in the /etc/kubernetes/manifests directory on the Kubernetes Control Plane.

Set the value of "--use-service-account-credentials" to "true".

Identifiers

Group ID
V-242381
Group title
SRG-APP-000023-CTR-000055
Rule ID
SV-242381r1043176_rule
Check ID
C-45656r927075_chk
Fix ID
F-45614r927076_fix