kubernetes-pod-security-admission-review

Kubernetes Pod Security Admission Review

Purpose

Review the Kubernetes Pod Security Admission posture: namespace labels for pod-security.kubernetes.io/enforce, audit, and warn, the chosen profile (privileged, baseline, restricted), version pinning, and exemptions. PSA replaced the deprecated PodSecurityPolicy in Kubernetes 1.25. It is the foundation for any admission-time security story — Kyverno, OPA Gatekeeper, and other policy engines layer on top of (or alongside) PSA, not as replacements.

Lean operating rules

• Prefer live cluster evidence (kubectl get namespaces --show-labels plus kubectl get pods -n <ns> -o yaml) when the active client exposes it; otherwise fall back to official Kubernetes documentation and sanitized YAML.
• Separate confirmed facts from inference. If namespace labels, cluster admission configuration, or running pod security context state was not queried, say so.
• Treat a production namespace with enforce: privileged as a critical finding — the most permissive profile is enabled in a tier where nothing should be running with host access, privilege escalation, or capabilities.
• Treat a production namespace with no PSA label at all as a critical finding — the cluster default applies, which is privileged unless the cluster admin set a different default in AdmissionConfiguration.
• Challenge namespaces with audit/warn set but enforce missing — security violations are only logged, not blocked.
• Challenge enforce-version: latest — every Kubernetes upgrade can change profile semantics; pin to a specific minor.
• Challenge kube-system and operator namespaces excluded from PSA without documentation of which workloads require privileged access.
• Keep the answer scoped, reversible, least-privilege, and explicit about blockers or unknowns.

References

Load these only when needed:

• Evidence path and tooling — use when choosing live evidence, confirming cluster admission configuration, or switching to documentation mode.
• Workflow and output contract — use when executing the full review, applying profile-by-profile stress checks, or formatting the final answer.
• Official sources — use when you need the detailed Kubernetes documentation list and grounded insights.

Response minimum

Return, at minimum:

• the scoped target (specific namespace, set of namespaces, or cluster default) and evidence level,
• the active profile (privileged / baseline / restricted) and active mode (enforce / audit / warn),
• whether currently-running pods would still admit at the proposed profile,
• the exemption posture (cluster AdmissionConfiguration exemptions, namespace label override),
• the safest next actions and rollback plan,
• the assumptions or blockers that prevent stronger conclusions.