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Application Environment, Configuration and Security →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

CKAD Practice Question: Application Environment, Configuration and Security

This CKAD practice question tests your understanding of application environment, configuration and security. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. 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.

You need to grant a ServiceAccount 'my-sa' read-only access to pods in the 'test' namespace. Which RBAC YAML should you create?

Question 1mediummultiple choice
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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

✓

kind: Role\napiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1\nmetadata:\n namespace: test\n name: pod-reader\nrules:\n- apiGroups: [""]\n resources: ["pods"]\n verbs: ["get", "list", "watch"]\n---\nkind: RoleBinding\napiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1\nmetadata:\n namespace: test\n name: read-pods\nsubjects:\n- kind: ServiceAccount\n name: my-sa\n namespace: test\nroleRef:\n kind: Role\n name: pod-reader\n apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io

Option B is correct because it creates a Role in the 'test' namespace with read-only verbs ('get', 'list', 'watch') on pods, and binds that Role to the ServiceAccount 'my-sa' in the same namespace via a RoleBinding. This grants the ServiceAccount scoped, namespace-level read-only access to pods, which matches the requirement precisely.

Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

  • ✗

    kind: ClusterRole\napiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1\nmetadata:\n name: pod-reader\nrules:\n- apiGroups: [""]\n resources: ["pods"]\n verbs: ["get", "list", "watch"]\n---\nkind: ClusterRoleBinding\napiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1\nmetadata:\n name: read-pods\nsubjects:\n- kind: ServiceAccount\n name: my-sa\n namespace: test\nroleRef:\n kind: ClusterRole\n name: pod-reader\n apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io

    Why it's wrong here

    ClusterRoleBinding gives access to all namespaces, which is too broad.

  • ✓

    kind: Role\napiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1\nmetadata:\n namespace: test\n name: pod-reader\nrules:\n- apiGroups: [""]\n resources: ["pods"]\n verbs: ["get", "list", "watch"]\n---\nkind: RoleBinding\napiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1\nmetadata:\n namespace: test\n name: read-pods\nsubjects:\n- kind: ServiceAccount\n name: my-sa\n namespace: test\nroleRef:\n kind: Role\n name: pod-reader\n apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io

    Why this is correct

    Correct Role and RoleBinding in the same namespace.

    Related concept

    Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

  • ✗

    kind: Role\napiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1\nmetadata:\n namespace: test\n name: pod-reader\nrules:\n- apiGroups: [""]\n resources: ["pods"]\n verbs: ["create", "delete"]

    Why it's wrong here

    Verbs create and delete are not read-only.

  • ✗

    kind: Role\napiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1\nmetadata:\n name: pod-reader\n namespace: default\nrules: ...\n---\nkind: RoleBinding ...

    Why it's wrong here

    The Role is in the wrong namespace (default instead of test).

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

CNCF often tests the distinction between Role and ClusterRole, and between RoleBinding and ClusterRoleBinding, to see if candidates understand that namespace-scoped access requires a Role and RoleBinding, not a ClusterRole and ClusterRoleBinding, even when the permissions are identical.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

In Kubernetes RBAC, a Role always belongs to a specific namespace and grants permissions within that namespace only, while a ClusterRole can be used for cluster-scoped resources or namespaced resources across all namespaces. When binding a ClusterRole to a ServiceAccount via a RoleBinding, the permissions are scoped to the RoleBinding's namespace, but using a ClusterRoleBinding would grant cluster-wide access. The verbs 'get', 'list', and 'watch' are the standard read-only verbs for Kubernetes resources, and omitting any of them would restrict the ServiceAccount's ability to read pods in different ways (e.g., 'get' for individual pods, 'list' for collections, 'watch' for streaming updates).

KKey Concepts to Remember

  • Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
  • Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
  • Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.

TExam Day Tips

  • Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
  • Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.

Key takeaway

Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.

Real-world example

How this comes up in practice

A junior network technician can log in to a core router but cannot reach the enable prompt or configuration mode. The AAA server is authenticating the login — but the authorisation policy only grants privilege level 1, not 15. Authentication (who you are) is working; authorisation (what you can do) is not.

What to study next

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

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

Questions learners often ask

What does this CKAD question test?

Application Environment, Configuration and Security — This question tests Application Environment, Configuration and Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: kind: Role\napiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1\nmetadata:\n namespace: test\n name: pod-reader\nrules:\n- apiGroups: [""]\n resources: ["pods"]\n verbs: ["get", "list", "watch"]\n---\nkind: RoleBinding\napiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1\nmetadata:\n namespace: test\n name: read-pods\nsubjects:\n- kind: ServiceAccount\n name: my-sa\n namespace: test\nroleRef:\n kind: Role\n name: pod-reader\n apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io — Option B is correct because it creates a Role in the 'test' namespace with read-only verbs ('get', 'list', 'watch') on pods, and binds that Role to the ServiceAccount 'my-sa' in the same namespace via a RoleBinding. This grants the ServiceAccount scoped, namespace-level read-only access to pods, which matches the requirement precisely.

What should I do if I get this CKAD question wrong?

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026

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