---
title: Network policy without Pod target
description: Datadog, the leading service for cloud-scale monitoring.
breadcrumbs: >-
  Docs > Datadog Security > Code Security > Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
  Security > IaC Security Rules > Network policy without Pod target
---

# Network policy without Pod target

{% 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-network-policy-is-not-targeting-any-pod` 

**Platform:** Kubernetes

**Severity:** Low

**Category:** Networking and Firewall

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

- [Provider Reference](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/services-networking/network-policies/)

### Description{% #description %}

Each NetworkPolicy should target at least one Pod. This rule verifies that the `spec.podSelector.matchLabels` entries match the `metadata.labels` of at least one Pod present in the input documents. If no Pod matches the selector, the NetworkPolicy is reported as not targeting any Pod.

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

```yaml
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: nginx-deployment
  labels:
    app: nginx
spec:
  replicas: 3
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: nginx
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: nginx
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: nginx
        image: nginx:1.14.2
        ports:
        - containerPort: 80
---
apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: NetworkPolicy
metadata:
  name: test-network-policy
  namespace: default
spec:
  podSelector:
    matchLabels:
      app: nginx
  policyTypes:
  - Ingress
  - Egress
  ingress:
  - from:
    - ipBlock:
        cidr: 172.17.0.0/16
        except:
        - 172.17.1.0/24
    - namespaceSelector:
        matchLabels:
          project: myproject
    - podSelector:
        matchLabels:
          role: frontend
    ports:
    - protocol: TCP
      port: 6379
  egress:
  - to:
    - ipBlock:
        cidr: 10.0.0.0/24
    ports:
    - protocol: TCP
      port: 5978
```

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

```yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: nopolicy
  labels:
    app: easy
spec:
  containers:
  - name: nginx
    image: nginx:1.14.2
    ports:
    - containerPort: 80
---
apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: NetworkPolicy
metadata:
  name: test-network-policy
  namespace: default
spec:
  podSelector:
    matchLabels:
      app: rarelabel
  policyTypes:
  - Ingress
  ingress:
  - from:
    - ipBlock:
        cidr: 172.17.0.0/16
        except:
        - 172.17.1.0/24
    - namespaceSelector:
        matchLabels:
          project: myproject
    - podSelector:
        matchLabels:
          role: frontend
    ports:
    - protocol: TCP
      port: 6379
  egress:
  - to:
    - ipBlock:
        cidr: 10.0.0.0/24
    ports:
    - protocol: TCP
      port: 5978
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: partialpolicy
  labels:
    app: easy
spec:
  containers:
  - name: nginx
    image: nginx:1.14.2
    ports:
    - containerPort: 80
```