KCSA Kubernetes Threat Model Practice Question
When modeling threats related to Kubernetes secrets management, which TWO actions help protect secrets from unauthorized access?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Integrating external secret management systems (e.g., HashiCorp Vault, AWS Secrets Manager)
Using external secret stores (like Vault or cloud KMS) and enabling etcd encryption at rest protect secrets effectively.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Granting all namespace users cluster-admin read permissions on Secret objects
Why it's wrong here
Broad secret read access violates the principle of least privilege.
- ✓
Integrating external secret management systems (e.g., HashiCorp Vault, AWS Secrets Manager)
Why this is correct
External secret stores decouple secrets from etcd storage and provide robust access auditing.
- ✗
Disabling RBAC authentication across all API server endpoints
Why it's wrong here
Disabling RBAC removes authorization controls completely.
- ✓
Enabling etcd encryption at rest using a dedicated encryption provider configuration
Why this is correct
Etcd encryption at rest ensures secrets are encrypted before being written to disk.
- ✗
Storing database credentials in plain text ConfigMaps in the default namespace
Why it's wrong here
ConfigMaps are unencrypted plain text and visible to anyone with read access to the namespace.
About these practice questions
This KCSA question is part of Courseiva's 320-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed August 2026 · checked against the official CNCF / Linux Foundation exam blueprint
This KCSA practice question is part of Courseiva's free CNCF / Linux Foundation certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the KCSA exam.