> ## 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 Kubeconfig File Ownership Is Set Root

### More Info:

Ensure that the kubelet kubeconfig 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, check the current ownership of the kubelet kubeconfig file:
           ```bash theme={null}
           stat -c %U:%G /etc/kubernetes/kubelet.conf
           ```

        2. If the file exists and the ownership is not `root:root`, change the ownership on that worker node:
           ```bash theme={null}
           chown root:root /etc/kubernetes/kubelet.conf
           ```

        3. (Optional) Confirm filesystem permissions did not change unexpectedly:
           ```bash theme={null}
           stat -c %a /etc/kubernetes/kubelet.conf
           ```

        4. Verify the fix on that worker node using the audit-style command:
           ```bash theme={null}
           /bin/sh -c 'if test -e /etc/kubernetes/kubelet.conf; then stat -c %U:%G /etc/kubernetes/kubelet.conf; else echo "File not found"; fi'
           ```
      </Accordion>

      <Accordion title="Using kubectl">
        kubectl cannot modify file ownership on worker node filesystems, including `/etc/kubernetes/kubelet.conf`, so this finding cannot be fixed through the Kubernetes API. The required change must be made directly on each worker node’s host OS; see the Manual Steps section for the exact commands to run there.
      </Accordion>

      <Accordion title="Automation">
        ```bash theme={null}
        #!/usr/bin/env bash
        #
        # Fix: Ensure kubelet kubeconfig file ownership is set to root:root
        # Scope: Run on every worker node (as root or with sudo)
        # Safe to re-run: yes

        set -euo pipefail

        KUBELET_KUBECONFIG="/etc/kubernetes/kubelet.conf"

        echo "==> Checking for kubelet kubeconfig at ${KUBELET_KUBECONFIG}"

        if [ ! -e "${KUBELET_KUBECONFIG}" ]; then
          echo "File not found: ${KUBELET_KUBECONFIG}"
          echo "Nothing to change on this node."
          exit 0
        fi

        echo "==> Current ownership:"
        stat -c '%n %U:%G' "${KUBELET_KUBECONFIG}"

        # Apply remediation (idempotent)
        echo "==> Setting ownership to root:root..."
        chown root:root "${KUBELET_KUBECONFIG}"

        # Verification
        echo "==> Verifying ownership after change:"
        OWNER_GROUP="$(stat -c '%U:%G' "${KUBELET_KUBECONFIG}")"
        echo "${KUBELET_KUBECONFIG} ${OWNER_GROUP}"

        if [ "${OWNER_GROUP}" != "root:root" ]; then
          echo "ERROR: Ownership is not root:root after chown. Investigate permissions on this node." >&2
          exit 1
        fi

        echo "==> Ownership successfully set to root:root on ${KUBELET_KUBECONFIG}"
        ```

        Usage (on every worker node):

        ```bash theme={null}
        sudo bash ./fix-kubelet-kubeconfig-ownership.sh
        ```

        This script:

        * Ensures `/etc/kubernetes/kubelet.conf` exists.
        * Runs `chown root:root /etc/kubernetes/kubelet.conf`.
        * Re-runs the audit (`stat -c %U:%G /etc/kubernetes/kubelet.conf`) and fails if the result is not `root:root`.
      </Accordion>
    </AccordionGroup>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

### Additional Reading:

* [https://kubernetes.io/docs/admin/kubelet/](https://kubernetes.io/docs/admin/kubelet/)