This CKS practice question tests your understanding of cluster setup and 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.
An administrator wants to prevent the kubelet from serving anonymous requests. Which flag should be set on the kubelet?
--client-ca-file=/etc/kubernetes/pki/ca.crt
Why wrong: This sets the CA file for client certificates, but does not disable anonymous auth.
--authorization-mode=Webhook
Why wrong: This sets authorization mode, not authentication.
--anonymous-auth=false
This disables anonymous authentication on the kubelet.
--authentication-token-webhook=true
Why wrong: This enables webhook token authentication, but does not disable anonymous auth.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
--anonymous-auth=false
The `--anonymous-auth=false` flag explicitly disables anonymous authentication on the kubelet, preventing unauthenticated requests from being processed. By default, anonymous authentication is enabled (`--anonymous-auth=true`), which allows any unauthenticated user to make requests to the kubelet API. Setting this flag to `false` ensures that only authenticated clients can interact with the kubelet, directly addressing the requirement to block anonymous requests.
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.
--client-ca-file=/etc/kubernetes/pki/ca.crt
Why it's wrong here
This sets the CA file for client certificates, but does not disable anonymous auth.
--authorization-mode=Webhook
Why it's wrong here
This sets authorization mode, not authentication.
--anonymous-auth=false
Why this is correct
This disables anonymous authentication on the kubelet.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
--authentication-token-webhook=true
Why it's wrong here
This enables webhook token authentication, but does not disable anonymous auth.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse authentication with authorization—they think setting a client CA file or enabling webhook authorization will block anonymous requests, but those controls only affect already-authenticated users or authorization decisions, not the initial authentication step where anonymous access is allowed by default.
Detailed technical explanation
The kubelet's authentication process checks multiple authenticators in order: x509 client certificates, bearer tokens, and finally anonymous authentication. When `--anonymous-auth=true` (the default), any request that fails all other authenticators is treated as coming from the system:anonymous user with the system:unauthenticated group, which can then be authorized by the kubelet's authorization mode. In a hardened cluster, disabling anonymous auth is critical because it prevents unauthenticated access to sensitive kubelet endpoints like /pods, /exec, and /metrics, which could otherwise be exploited by an attacker with network access.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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
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FAQ
Cluster Setup and Hardening — This question tests Cluster Setup and Hardening — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: --anonymous-auth=false — The `--anonymous-auth=false` flag explicitly disables anonymous authentication on the kubelet, preventing unauthenticated requests from being processed. By default, anonymous authentication is enabled (`--anonymous-auth=true`), which allows any unauthenticated user to make requests to the kubelet API. Setting this flag to `false` ensures that only authenticated clients can interact with the kubelet, directly addressing the requirement to block anonymous requests.
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 24, 2026
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