This CKS practice question tests your understanding of system hardening. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. 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.
During a security audit, it is found that containers running in a cluster have CAP_NET_RAW capability by default. The team wants to drop this capability for all containers. Which approach should be taken?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a PodSecurityPolicy with requiredDropCapabilities: [NET_RAW] and assign it to a role binding
Option B is correct because PodSecurityPolicy (PSP) is the native Kubernetes mechanism to enforce cluster-wide security constraints, including dropping specific capabilities like NET_RAW. By defining a PSP with `requiredDropCapabilities: [NET_RAW]` and binding it to a role via RoleBinding or ClusterRoleBinding, all containers in the cluster will automatically have that capability removed, ensuring consistent enforcement without modifying individual workloads.
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.
✗
Use a mutating admission webhook to add a finalizer that drops capabilities
Why it's wrong here
Finalizers are not used for capability drops; a webhook could work but is overkill and not the standard approach.
✓
Create a PodSecurityPolicy with requiredDropCapabilities: [NET_RAW] and assign it to a role binding
Why this is correct
PSP (or PSA) enforces the drop for all pods in the cluster.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Configure kubelet with --allowed-unsafe-sysctls to restrict capabilities
Why it's wrong here
Sysctls are not related to Linux capabilities.
✗
Modify each deployment to include securityContext.capabilities.drop: [NET_RAW]
Why it's wrong here
This is manual and not scalable; does not enforce for all pods.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse PodSecurityPolicy with deprecated or alternative mechanisms (like manual deployment edits or unrelated kubelet flags), or mistakenly think a mutating webhook with a finalizer can alter security contexts, when in fact finalizers serve a completely different purpose in Kubernetes lifecycle management.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Capabilities in Linux are governed by the `capability.h` header and the `capget`/`capset` syscalls; dropping `CAP_NET_RAW` prevents a container from creating raw sockets (e.g., ICMP ping or ARP spoofing). PodSecurityPolicy works by injecting a `SecurityContext` into the pod spec during admission, which the container runtime (e.g., containerd) translates into the appropriate `cap_drop` entries in the OCI runtime spec. In real-world scenarios, dropping `NET_RAW` is critical for compliance with standards like PCI DSS, which require disabling raw socket access to prevent packet injection attacks.
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 small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
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: Create a PodSecurityPolicy with requiredDropCapabilities: [NET_RAW] and assign it to a role binding — Option B is correct because PodSecurityPolicy (PSP) is the native Kubernetes mechanism to enforce cluster-wide security constraints, including dropping specific capabilities like NET_RAW. By defining a PSP with `requiredDropCapabilities: [NET_RAW]` and binding it to a role via RoleBinding or ClusterRoleBinding, all containers in the cluster will automatically have that capability removed, ensuring consistent enforcement without modifying individual workloads.
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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