hardMultiple SelectObjective-mapped
CKS Practice Question: Runs kube-hunter against a production cluster and…
Network Topology
A security engineer runs kube-hunter against a production cluster and receives the above output. The cluster uses kubeadm with default settings. Which two actions should the engineer take to remediate the vulnerabilities?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse the kubelet's anonymous-auth flag with the API server's anonymous-auth flag, or think that enabling webhook authentication alone (Option B) disables anonymous access, when in fact anonymous auth must be explicitly disabled on the kubelet.
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
✓
Upgrade the cluster to Kubernetes 1.14 or later to fix CVE-2019-11245
CVE-2019-11245 affects kubelet container runtime exec probes in Kubernetes versions prior to 1.14, where containers could restart unexpectedly due to a race condition. Upgrading to 1.14 or later patches this vulnerability. Option C is correct because setting --anonymous-auth=false on the kubelet disables unauthenticated access to the kubelet API, which is a common finding from kube-hunter when default kubeadm settings leave anonymous authentication enabled.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Upgrade the cluster to Kubernetes 1.14 or later to fix CVE-2019-11245
Why this is correct
The vulnerability is fixed in kubelet versions 1.13.9+, 1.14.5+, and 1.15.2+.
- ✗
Set the kubelet flag --authentication-token-webhook=true
Why it's wrong here
This enables token review but does not disable anonymous access.
- ✓
Configure the kubelet to set --anonymous-auth=false and restart the kubelet service
Why this is correct
This stops the kubelet from allowing unauthenticated requests.
- ✗
Enable the NodeRestriction admission controller
Why it's wrong here
NodeRestriction limits node self-updates to the API server, but does not secure the kubelet API.
- ✗
Modify the kube-apiserver manifest to set --anonymous-auth=false
Why it's wrong here
This affects the API server, not the kubelet's anonymous access.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CKS 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 CKS exam.