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Scenario #239
Security
K8s v1.20, GKE
Kubernetes Secrets Accessed via Insecure Network
Kubernetes secrets were accessed via an insecure network connection, exposing sensitive information to unauthorized parties.
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What Happened
Secrets were transmitted over an unsecured network connection between pods and the Kubernetes API server, allowing an attacker to intercept the data.
Diagnosis Steps
- 1Inspected network traffic and found that Kubernetes API server connections were not encrypted (HTTP instead of HTTPS).
- 2Analyzed pod configurations and found that sensitive secrets were being transmitted without encryption.
Root Cause
Lack of encryption for sensitive data in transit allowed it to be intercepted.
Fix/Workaround
• Configured Kubernetes to use HTTPS for all API server communications.
• Ensured that all pod-to-API server traffic was encrypted and used secure protocols.Lessons Learned
Always encrypt traffic between Kubernetes components, especially when transmitting sensitive data like secrets.
How to Avoid
- 1Ensure HTTPS is enforced for all communications between Kubernetes components.
- 2Use Transport Layer Security (TLS) for secure communication across the cluster.