Kubernetes Security: Preventing External Dependencies by Managing the Pause Image Internally
By
meatmanek
Baker's choice. Dense with flavour, light on filler.
Summary
The article discusses a Kubernetes security and reliability issue where Kubernetes nodes automatically pull the 'pause' container image from the public internet (registry.k8s.io) when starting pods, creating an external dependency that could impact platform reliability. The author argues that internal Kubernetes platforms should have zero internet dependencies for pod startup and provides guidance on how to prevent this behavior by pre-pulling or hosting the pause image internally.
Key quotes
· 4 pulledIf you are running an internal Kubernetes (k8s) platform, you owe it to yourself to make sure there is nothing external to your platform determining your reliability.
You could ask yourself: How many internet dependencies do you have to start a pod? Should be zero, right???
If you use stock k8s, you might be surprised to know that each of your k8s nodes is actually reaching out to registry.k8s.io on first pod creation to get the pause image.
I don't normally write blog posts that regurgitate information from normal documentation, but this particular subject irks me.
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