---
title: Service account lookup set to false
description: Datadog, the leading service for cloud-scale monitoring.
breadcrumbs: >-
  Docs > Datadog Security > Code Security > Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
  Security > IaC Security Rules > Service account lookup set to false
---

# Service account lookup set to false

{% 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). ().
{% /alert %}

{% /callout %}

## Metadata{% #metadata %}

**Id:** `a5530bd7-225a-48f9-91bb-f40b04200165`

**Cloud Provider:** Kubernetes

**Platform:** Kubernetes

**Severity:** High

**Category:** Access Control

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

- [Provider Reference](https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/command-line-tools-reference/kube-apiserver/)

### Description{% #description %}

When using `kube-apiserver`, the `--service-account-lookup` flag should be set to `true`. This rule flags containers (including `initContainers`) that run `kube-apiserver` and explicitly set `--service-account-lookup=false`. Disabling this lookup skips verification that a token's service account still exists, which can allow tokens for deleted or revoked service accounts to be accepted; therefore the flag should be enabled (`true`).

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

```yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: command-demo
  labels:
    purpose: demonstrate-command
spec:
  containers:
    - name: command-demo-container
      image: gcr.io/google_containers/kube-apiserver-amd64:v1.6.0
      command: ["kube-apiserver"]
      args: ["--service-account-lookup=true"]
  restartPolicy: OnFailure
```

```yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: command-demo
  labels:
    purpose: demonstrate-command
spec:
  containers:
    - name: command-demo-container
      image: gcr.io/google_containers/kube-apiserver-amd64:v1.6.0
      command: ["kube-apiserver"]
      args: []
  restartPolicy: OnFailure
```

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

```yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: command-demo
  labels:
    purpose: demonstrate-command
spec:
  containers:
    - name: command-demo-container
      image: gcr.io/google_containers/kube-apiserver-amd64:v1.6.0
      command: ["kube-apiserver"]
      args: ["--service-account-lookup=false"]
  restartPolicy: OnFailure
```