---
title: Kubelet protect-kernel-defaults 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 > Kubelet protect-kernel-defaults set to false
---

# Kubelet protect-kernel-defaults set to false

{% callout %}
# Important note for users on the following Datadog sites: app.ddog-gov.com, us2.ddog-gov.com

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

{% /callout %}

## Metadata{% #metadata %}

**Id:** `kubernetes-kubelet-protect-kernel-defaults-set-to-false` 

**Platform:** Kubernetes

**Severity:** Medium

**Category:** Insecure Configurations

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

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

### Description{% #description %}

The `--protect-kernel-defaults` flag must be set to `true`. If kubelet is started via a container command, the command must not include `--protect-kernel-defaults=false`. For `KubeletConfiguration` resources, the `protectKernelDefaults` field must be defined and set to `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: foo/bar
      command: ["kubelet"]
      args: ["--protect-kernel-defaults=true"]
  restartPolicy: OnFailure
```

```yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: command-demo
  labels:
    purpose: demonstrate-command
spec:
  containers:
    - name: command-demo-container
      image: foo/bar
      command: ["kubelet"]
      args: []
  restartPolicy: OnFailure
```

```yaml
apiVersion: kubelet.config.k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: KubeletConfiguration
address: "192.168.0.8"
port: 20250
serializeImagePulls: false
protectKernelDefaults: true
tlsCertFile: "someFile.txt"
tlsPrivateKeyFile: "someFile.txt"
evictionHard:
    memory.available:  "200Mi"
```

## 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: foo/bar
      command: ["kubelet"]
      args: ["--protect-kernel-defaults=false"]
  restartPolicy: OnFailure
```

```yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: command-demo
  labels:
    purpose: demonstrate-command
spec:
  containers:
    - name: command-demo-container
      image: foo/bar
      command: ["kubelet","--protect-kernel-defaults=false"]
      args: []
  restartPolicy: OnFailure
```

```yaml
apiVersion: kubelet.config.k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: KubeletConfiguration
address: "192.168.0.8"
port: 20250
protectKernelDefaults: false
serializeImagePulls: false
tlsCertFile: "someFile.txt"
tlsPrivateKeyFile: "someFile.txt"
evictionHard:
    memory.available:  "200Mi"
```