This CKAD practice question tests your understanding of application environment, configuration and security. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
An administrator wants to enforce that all Pods in a namespace run with a read-only root filesystem. Which admission controller should be configured?
LimitRange
Why wrong: LimitRange sets default resource limits, not security contexts.
ResourceQuota
Why wrong: ResourceQuota limits total resources, not security settings.
MutatingAdmissionWebhook
Why wrong: While a webhook could do this, PSA is the standard built-in method.
Pod Security Admission (PSA)
PSA enforces predefined security profiles including restricted which mandates readOnlyRootFilesystem.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Pod Security Admission (PSA)
Pod Security Admission (PSA) is the correct choice because it enforces Pod Security Standards (PSS) at the namespace level, including the `Restricted` profile which mandates a read-only root filesystem (`readOnlyRootFilesystem: true`). PSA is a built-in admission controller that evaluates pod specifications against predefined security policies and rejects pods that violate them, making it the appropriate tool for this requirement.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
LimitRange
Why it's wrong here
LimitRange sets default resource limits, not security contexts.
ResourceQuota
Why it's wrong here
ResourceQuota limits total resources, not security settings.
MutatingAdmissionWebhook
Why it's wrong here
While a webhook could do this, PSA is the standard built-in method.
Pod Security Admission (PSA)
Why this is correct
PSA enforces predefined security profiles including restricted which mandates readOnlyRootFilesystem.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates confuse admission controllers that manage resource quotas (LimitRange, ResourceQuota) with those that enforce security policies, or mistakenly think a webhook is required when a built-in controller like PSA already provides the needed enforcement.
Detailed technical explanation
Pod Security Admission operates by matching pod security contexts against three predefined profiles (Privileged, Baseline, Restricted) configured via namespace labels like `pod-security.kubernetes.io/enforce=restricted`. The Restricted profile enforces `readOnlyRootFilesystem: true` among other constraints, and PSA rejects pods that fail validation at admission time. In practice, this is often used in multi-tenant clusters to prevent containers from writing to their filesystem, reducing the impact of compromise by limiting persistence and malware execution.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A practitioner preparing for the CKAD exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Application Environment, Configuration and Security — This question tests Application Environment, Configuration and Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Pod Security Admission (PSA) — Pod Security Admission (PSA) is the correct choice because it enforces Pod Security Standards (PSS) at the namespace level, including the `Restricted` profile which mandates a read-only root filesystem (`readOnlyRootFilesystem: true`). PSA is a built-in admission controller that evaluates pod specifications against predefined security policies and rejects pods that violate them, making it the appropriate tool for this requirement.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 25, 2026
This CKAD practice question is part of Courseiva's free CNCF 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 CKAD exam.
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