This CKS practice question tests your understanding of cluster 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.
Which THREE of the following are valid methods to enforce pod security standards in a Kubernetes cluster?
Use Kyverno policy engine
Another admission controller.
Run kube-bench on the cluster
Why wrong: Audits, does not enforce.
Manual review of all pod specs
Why wrong: Not scalable or automated.
Use Open Policy Agent (OPA) with Gatekeeper
External admission controller.
Enable PodSecurity admission plugin
Native Kubernetes enforcement.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Use Kyverno policy engine
Kyverno is a Kubernetes-native policy engine that can enforce pod security standards by validating, mutating, and generating resources based on policies written as Kubernetes custom resources. It integrates with the Kubernetes API server via dynamic admission webhooks, allowing it to reject non-compliant pod specs before they are persisted.
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.
Use Kyverno policy engine
Why this is correct
Another admission controller.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Run kube-bench on the cluster
Why it's wrong here
Audits, does not enforce.
Manual review of all pod specs
Why it's wrong here
Not scalable or automated.
Use Open Policy Agent (OPA) with Gatekeeper
Why this is correct
External admission controller.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Enable PodSecurity admission plugin
Why this is correct
Native Kubernetes enforcement.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
CNCF often tests the distinction between auditing tools (like kube-bench) and admission controllers that enforce policies at runtime, leading candidates to mistakenly select kube-bench as an enforcement method.
Detailed technical explanation
Pod security standards (baseline, restricted, privileged) are enforced at admission time by the PodSecurity admission plugin, which evaluates pod specs against predefined security contexts. Kyverno and OPA/Gatekeeper use MutatingAdmissionWebhook and ValidatingAdmissionWebhook configurations to intercept API requests, allowing custom policies that can enforce more granular controls beyond the built-in PodSecurity levels, such as disallowing specific Linux capabilities or enforcing read-only root filesystems.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
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.
What to study next
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FAQ
Cluster Hardening — This question tests Cluster Hardening — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Use Kyverno policy engine — Kyverno is a Kubernetes-native policy engine that can enforce pod security standards by validating, mutating, and generating resources based on policies written as Kubernetes custom resources. It integrates with the Kubernetes API server via dynamic admission webhooks, allowing it to reject non-compliant pod specs before they are persisted.
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 30, 2026
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.
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