Profile Applicability:

  • Level 1

Description:

Ensure that the ownership of the etcd data directory is set to etcd:etcd. This ensures that the etcd process, which is the owner of the data directory, has exclusive access and control over the files, reducing the risk of unauthorized access or modification.

Rationale:

Setting the ownership of the etcd data directory to etcd:etcd ensures that the etcd process has proper control over its data directory. This prevents unauthorized users from modifying the etcd data, which could result in a loss of cluster data integrity, potentially leading to security breaches or data corruption.

Impact:

Pros:

  • Ensures proper access control over the etcd data directory, preventing unauthorized access.

  • Protects the integrity of etcd data, which is critical for maintaining the state of the Kubernetes cluster.

Cons:

  • If ownership is misconfigured, it could cause operational issues, especially if access is restricted for necessary processes or during troubleshooting.

Default Value:

By default, the etcd data directory may not have ownership set to etcd:etcd. Manual configuration is required to ensure proper ownership.

Pre-Requisites:

  • Access to the etcd data directory.

  • Sufficient privileges (root or administrator access) to modify file ownership.

  • A Kubernetes environment with secure management of etcd data.

Remediation:

Test Plan:

Using AWS Console:

  1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console.

  2. Open the Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) console.

  3. Navigate to the "Workloads" section and locate the node running the etcd service.

  4. Check the ownership of the etcd data directory to ensure it is set to etcd:etcd.

  5. Verify that only authorized users (etcd process) have ownership of the file.

Using AWS CLI:

Use the following command to check the ownership of the etcd data directory:

kubectl exec -it <etcd-pod-name> -- ls -ld /var/lib/etcd

Ensure that the directory ownership is set to etcd:etcd. If not, run the following command to correct it:

sudo chown etcd:etcd /var/lib/etcd

Implementation Plan:

Using AWS Console:

  1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console.

  2. Open the EKS service and navigate to the "Workloads" section.

  3. Locate the node running the etcd service.

  4. Review the ownership of the etcd data directory.

  5. If the ownership is not set to etcd:etcd, modify the ownership by accessing the node and updating the ownership to etcd:etcd.

Using AWS CLI:

Identify the node where the etcd data directory is located:

kubectl get nodes

Access the node and check the ownership of the etcd data directory:

kubectl exec -it <etcd-pod-name> -- ls -ld /var/lib/etcd

If needed, change the ownership:

sudo chown etcd:etcd /var/lib/etcd

Backout Plan:

Using AWS Console:

  1. Sign in to the AWS Console.

  2. Navigate to the Kubernetes environment and locate the node where the etcd data directory is stored.

  3. Review the ownership of the etcd data directory.

  4. If necessary, modify the ownership to ensure proper access control.

  5. Confirm that the ownership changes are applied successfully.

Using AWS CLI:

To revert the ownership to a less secure setting, run the following command:

sudo chown <user>:<group> /var/lib/etcd

References: