KCSA Platform Security Practice Question
A security engineer wants to inspect container runtime logs for potential security violations or runtime errors. Which log file or mechanism on a worker node managed by systemd and containerd provides container lifecycle events?
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
✓
journalctl -u containerd
In Kubernetes nodes managed by systemd, containerd logs its activities and container lifecycle events to the systemd journal, which can be queried using journalctl.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
kubectl get events --all-namespaces
Why it's wrong here
Kubernetes events show cluster-level object state changes, not low-level container runtime logs.
- ✓
journalctl -u containerd
Why this is correct
Containerd runs as a systemd service, so its logs and runtime messages are captured by journalctl.
- ✗
/var/log/coredns.log
Why it's wrong here
CoreDNS logs DNS query activity, not container runtime events.
- ✗
/var/log/kube-apiserver.log
Why it's wrong here
This file contains API server audit and operational logs, not containerd runtime events.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every KCSA question from scratch — 320 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed August 2026 · checked against the official CNCF / Linux Foundation exam blueprint
This KCSA practice question is part of Courseiva's free CNCF / Linux Foundation 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 KCSA exam.