﻿---
title: Kubernetes security posture management
description: The Kubernetes Security Posture Management (KSPM) integration allows you to identify configuration risks in the various components that make up your Kubernetes...
url: https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/5493/solutions/security/cloud/kubernetes-security-posture-management
products:
  - Elastic Cloud Serverless
  - Elastic Security
applies_to:
  - Serverless Security projects: Generally available
  - Elastic Stack: Generally available
---

# Kubernetes security posture management
## Overview

The Kubernetes Security Posture Management (KSPM) integration allows you to identify configuration risks in the various components that make up your Kubernetes cluster. It does this by evaluating your Kubernetes clusters against secure configuration guidelines defined by the Center for Internet Security (CIS) and generating findings with step-by-step instructions for remediating potential security risks.
This integration supports Amazon EKS and unmanaged Kubernetes clusters. For setup instructions, refer to [Get started with KSPM](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/5493/solutions/security/cloud/get-started-with-kspm).

## Requirements

- The KSPM integration is available to all Elastic Cloud users. For on-prem deployments, it requires an [appropriate subscription](https://www.elastic.co/pricing) level.
- KSPM for AWS deployments is supported only on AWS, not on AWS GovCloud. To request support, [submit a GitHub issue](https://github.com/elastic/kibana/issues/new/choose).


## How KSPM works

1. When you add a KSPM integration, it generates a Kubernetes manifest. When applied to a cluster, the manifest deploys an Elastic Agent as a [DaemonSet](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/workloads/controllers/daemonset) to ensure all nodes are evaluated.
2. Upon deployment, the integration immediately assesses the security posture of your Kubernetes resources. The evaluation process repeats every four hours.
3. After each evaluation, the integration sends findings to Elasticsearch. Findings appear on the [Cloud Security Posture dashboard](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/5493/solutions/security/dashboards/cloud-security-posture-dashboard) and the [findings](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/5493/solutions/security/cloud/findings-page-2) page.


## Use cases

The KSPM integration helps you to:
- Identify and remediate `failed` findings
- Identify the most misconfigured resources
- Identify risks in particular CIS benchmark sections


### Identify and remediate failed findings

To identify and remediate failed failed findings:
1. Go to the [Cloud Security Posture dashboard](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/5493/solutions/security/dashboards/cloud-security-posture-dashboard).
2. Click **View all failed findings**, either for an individual cluster or for all monitored clusters.
3. Click a failed finding. The findings flyout opens.
4. Follow the steps under **Remediation** to correct the misconfiguration.
   <note>
   Remediation steps typically include commands for you to execute. These sometimes contain placeholder values that you must replace before execution.
   </note>


### Identify the most misconfigured Kubernetes resources

To identify the Kubernetes resources generating the most failed findings:
1. Go to the [Findings](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/5493/solutions/security/cloud/findings-page-2) page.
2. Click the **Group by** menu near the search box and select **Resource** to view a list of resources sorted by their total number of failed findings.
3. Click a resource ID to view the findings associated with that resource.


### Identify configuration risks by CIS section

To identify risks in particular CIS sections:
1. Go to the [Cloud Security Posture dashboard](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/5493/solutions/security/dashboards/cloud-security-posture-dashboard).
2. In the Failed findings by CIS section widget, click the name of a CIS section to view all failed findings for that section.

Alternatively:
1. Go to the Findings page.
2. Filter by the `rule.section` field. For example, search for `rule.section : API Server` to view findings for benchmark rules in the API Server category.