This CKS practice question tests your understanding of system hardening. 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.
A security engineer wants to enforce that all containers in a namespace run without any unnecessary Linux capabilities, dropping all capabilities by default and only adding back what is needed. Which Pod Security Standard should be applied to that namespace using PodSecurity admission?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Restricted
The Restricted Pod Security Standard is the most stringent profile, which enforces dropping all capabilities by default and only allowing those explicitly required. It sets `securityContext.capabilities.drop: ["ALL"]` and restricts `allowedCapabilities` to an empty set, ensuring containers run with minimal Linux capabilities. This directly matches the requirement to drop all capabilities and add back only what is needed.
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.
✗
Privileged
Why it's wrong here
Privileged allows all capabilities, which is opposite to the requirement.
✗
Custom
Why it's wrong here
Pod Security Standards do not include a 'Custom' level; the available levels are privileged, baseline, and restricted.
✗
Baseline
Why it's wrong here
Baseline allows some minimal capabilities, but does not enforce dropping all capabilities by default.
✓
Restricted
Why this is correct
Restricted enforces dropping all capabilities and only adding back required ones, meeting the requirement.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
CNCF often tests the misconception that 'Baseline' is sufficient for strict capability control, but Baseline only blocks known dangerous capabilities (e.g., `CAP_SYS_ADMIN`) and does not require dropping all capabilities, so candidates must recognize that only Restricted enforces a full drop-all policy.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
The Restricted profile enforces a `MustRunAsNonRoot` user, a read-only root filesystem, and drops all capabilities via `capabilities.drop: ["ALL"]` with no allowed additions. Under the hood, this leverages the Linux kernel's capability bounding set and securebits to ensure that even if a container runs as root, it cannot gain additional privileges. In a real-world scenario, a container needing only `NET_BIND_SERVICE` would require a custom `SecurityContext` with `capabilities.add: ["NET_BIND_SERVICE"]` while still dropping all others, which is only possible under the Restricted profile.
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.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this CKS question in full detail.
System Hardening — This question tests System Hardening — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Restricted — The Restricted Pod Security Standard is the most stringent profile, which enforces dropping all capabilities by default and only allowing those explicitly required. It sets `securityContext.capabilities.drop: ["ALL"]` and restricts `allowedCapabilities` to an empty set, ensuring containers run with minimal Linux capabilities. This directly matches the requirement to drop all capabilities and add back only what is needed.
What should I do if I get this CKS 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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Question Discussion
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