STIGUI
V-242438CAT II — Medium severitySV-242438r961620_rule

Kubernetes API Server must configure timeouts to limit attack surface.

Rule version CNTR-K8-002600 · STIG v2 · 2026-02-12

Discussion

Kubernetes API Server request timeouts sets the duration a request stays open before timing out. Since the API Server is the central component in the Kubernetes Control Plane, it is vital to protect this service. If request timeouts were not set, malicious attacks or unwanted activities might affect multiple deployments across different applications or environments. This might deplete all resources from the Kubernetes infrastructure causing the information system to go offline. The "--request-timeout" value must never be set to "0". This disables the request-timeout feature. (By default, the "--request-timeout" is set to "1 minute".)

Check

Change to the /etc/kubernetes/manifests/ directory on the Kubernetes Control Plane. Run the command: grep -I request-timeout *

If Kubernetes API Server manifest file does not exist, this is a finding.

If the setting "--request-timeout" is set to "0" in the Kubernetes API Server manifest file, or is not configured this is a finding.

Fix

Edit the Kubernetes API Server manifest file in the /etc/kubernetes/manifests directory on the Kubernetes Control Plane.

Set the value of "--request-timeout" greater than "0".

Identifiers

Group ID
V-242438
Group title
SRG-APP-000435-CTR-001070
Rule ID
SV-242438r961620_rule
Check ID
C-45713r927126_chk
Fix ID
F-45671r927127_fix