---
title: Use service account credentials not set to true
description: Datadog, the leading service for cloud-scale monitoring.
breadcrumbs: >-
  Docs > Datadog Security > Code Security > Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
  Security > IaC Security Rules > Use service account credentials not set to
  true
---

# Use service account credentials not set to true

{% 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-use-service-account-credentials-not-set-to-true` 

**Platform:** Kubernetes

**Severity:** Medium

**Category:** Access Control

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

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

### Description{% #description %}

When running `kube-controller-manager`, the `--use-service-account-credentials` flag should be set to `true`. If the flag is set to `false` or omitted, the controller manager will not use service account credentials to authenticate to the API server, which can cause controllers to operate with incorrect or elevated permissions. This rule reports `IncorrectValue` when the flag is explicitly set to `false` and `MissingAttribute` when the flag is not present.

## 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-controller-manager-amd64:v1.6.0
      command: ["kube-controller-manager"]
      args: ["--use-service-account-credentials=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-controller-manager-amd64:v1.6.0
      command: ["kube-controller-manager","--use-service-account-credentials=true"]
      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-controller-manager-amd64:v1.6.0
      command: ["kube-controller-manager","--use-service-account-credentials=false"]
      args: []
  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-controller-manager-amd64:v1.6.0
      command: ["kube-controller-manager"]
      args: []
  restartPolicy: OnFailure
```