---
title: Client certificate disabled
description: Datadog, the leading service for cloud-scale monitoring.
breadcrumbs: >-
  Docs > Datadog Security > Code Security > Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
  Security > IaC Security Rules > Client certificate disabled
---

# Client certificate disabled

{% callout %}
# Important note for users on the following Datadog sites: app.ddog-gov.com

{% alert level="danger" %}
This product is not supported for your selected [Datadog site](https://docs.datadoghq.com/getting_started/site.md). ().
{% /alert %}

{% /callout %}

## Metadata{% #metadata %}

**Id:** `20180133-a0d0-4745-bfe0-94049fbb12a9`

**Cloud Provider:** GCP

**Platform:** Ansible

**Severity:** High

**Category:** Insecure Configurations

#### Learn More{% #learn-more %}

- [Provider Reference](https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/google/cloud/gcp_container_cluster_module.html)

### Description{% #description %}

Client certificate authentication for the Kubernetes control plane ensures administrators authenticate with strong cryptographic credentials, reducing reliance on weaker or shared credentials that can lead to unauthorized control-plane access.

For Ansible GCP Container Cluster resources (`google.cloud.gcp_container_cluster` and `gcp_container_cluster`), the `master_auth` object must include `client_certificate_config` with `issue_client_certificate: true`. Resources that omit `master_auth`, omit `client_certificate_config`, or set `issue_client_certificate` to `false` are flagged.

Secure configuration example for an Ansible task:

```yaml
- name: Create GKE cluster with client certificate enabled
  google.cloud.gcp_container_cluster:
    name: my-cluster
    master_auth:
      client_certificate_config:
        issue_client_certificate: true
```

## Compliant Code Examples{% #compliant-code-examples %}

```yaml
#this code is a correct code for which the query should not find any result
- name: create a cluster
  google.cloud.gcp_container_cluster:
    name: my-cluster
    initial_node_count: 2
    master_auth:
      username: cluster_admin
      password: my-secret-password
      client_certificate_config:
        issue_client_certificate: yes
    node_config:
      machine_type: n1-standard-4
      disk_size_gb: 500
    location: us-central1-a
    project: test_project
    auth_kind: serviceaccount
    service_account_file: /tmp/auth.pem
    state: present
```

## Non-Compliant Code Examples{% #non-compliant-code-examples %}

```yaml
#this is a problematic code where the query should report a result(s)
- name: create a cluster1
  google.cloud.gcp_container_cluster:
    name: my-cluster1
    initial_node_count: 2
    node_config:
      machine_type: n1-standard-4
      disk_size_gb: 500
    location: us-central1-a
    project: test_project
    auth_kind: serviceaccount
    service_account_file: "/tmp/auth.pem"
    state: present
- name: create a cluster2
  google.cloud.gcp_container_cluster:
    name: my-cluster2
    initial_node_count: 2
    master_auth:
      username: cluster_admin
      password: my-secret-password
    node_config:
      machine_type: n1-standard-4
      disk_size_gb: 500
    location: us-central1-a
    project: test_project
    auth_kind: serviceaccount
    service_account_file: "/tmp/auth.pem"
    state: present
- name: create a cluster3
  google.cloud.gcp_container_cluster:
    name: my-cluster3
    initial_node_count: 2
    master_auth:
      username: cluster_admin
      password: my-secret-password
      client_certificate_config:
        issue_client_certificate: no
    node_config:
      machine_type: n1-standard-4
      disk_size_gb: 500
    location: us-central1-a
    project: test_project
    auth_kind: serviceaccount
    service_account_file: "/tmp/auth.pem"
    state: present
```