KCNA Kubernetes Fundamentals Practice Question
An administrator needs to grant a ServiceAccount in namespace 'dev' permission to list and watch Pods in the same namespace. Which combination of resources is required?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming a ClusterRoleBinding is needed for any RBAC grant, when namespaced permissions should use a Role and RoleBinding to avoid granting cluster-wide access.
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
✓
A Role and a RoleBinding in the 'dev' namespace
To grant a ServiceAccount permission to list and watch Pods in a single namespace, you create a Role in that namespace with the appropriate rules and bind it to the ServiceAccount using a RoleBinding. This follows the principle of least privilege, as the permissions are confined to the 'dev' namespace and do not extend cluster-wide.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
A Role and a RoleBinding in the 'dev' namespace
Why this is correct
A Role defines permissions within a namespace, and a RoleBinding grants those permissions to a subject such as a ServiceAccount in that namespace. Since the requirement is limited to Pods in 'dev', a Role with verbs list and watch on pods, bound via RoleBinding, provides the necessary access without cluster-wide scope.
- ✗
A ClusterRole and a RoleBinding in the 'dev' namespace
Why it's wrong here
A ClusterRole with a RoleBinding in 'dev' would grant the permissions defined in the ClusterRole only within the 'dev' namespace. While this is a valid pattern for reusing ClusterRoles, it is not the minimal required combination; a namespaced Role is sufficient and more direct for permissions specific to one namespace. The question asks for the required combination, and Role + RoleBinding is the standard namespaced approach.
- ✗
A ClusterRole and a ClusterRoleBinding
Why it's wrong here
A ClusterRole and ClusterRoleBinding grant permissions across all namespaces, which exceeds the requirement. While a ClusterRole can be bound with a RoleBinding to limit scope, using a ClusterRoleBinding would allow the ServiceAccount to list Pods in every namespace, violating least privilege. This is over-permissioned for the scenario.
- ✗
A Role and a ClusterRoleBinding
Why it's wrong here
A ClusterRoleBinding can only reference a ClusterRole, not a namespaced Role. Therefore, this combination is invalid; the API server will reject a ClusterRoleBinding that tries to bind a Role. The correct pairing is Role with RoleBinding, or ClusterRole with RoleBinding for namespaced scope.
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Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CNCF exam blueprint
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