KCNA Cloud Native Application Delivery Practice Question
Which THREE of the following practices are essential for a secure cloud native CI/CD pipeline?
⚠ Common exam trap
CNCF often tests the misconception that storing secrets in plain text is acceptable if the pipeline is 'internal' or 'trusted,' but the KCNA exam emphasizes that secrets must never be stored in plain text in any CI/CD configuration.
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
✓
Sign container images and verify signatures during deployment
Signing container images (e.g., using Cosign or Notary) and verifying those signatures during deployment ensures that only trusted, unmodified images are deployed, preventing supply chain attacks. This practice enforces image integrity and provenance, which is a core security requirement for cloud native CI/CD pipelines.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Sign container images and verify signatures during deployment
Why this is correct
Ensures image integrity and authenticity.
- ✗
Store secrets in plain text in the pipeline configuration
Why it's wrong here
Secrets must be encrypted or stored in a secret manager.
- ✗
Use a single long-lived service account for all pipeline steps
Why it's wrong here
Violates least privilege; each step should have scoped credentials.
- ✓
Scan container images for vulnerabilities before deployment
Why this is correct
Identifies known CVEs in images.
- ✓
Apply least-privilege IAM roles to pipeline components
Why this is correct
Minimizes blast radius in case of compromise.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This KCNA 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 KCNA exam.