---
title: Role binding to default service account
description: Datadog, the leading service for cloud-scale monitoring.
breadcrumbs: >-
  Docs > Datadog Security > Code Security > Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
  Security > IaC Security Rules > Role binding to default service account
---

# Role binding to default service account

{% 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:** `terraform-kubernetes-role-binding-to-default-service-account` 

**Provider:** Kubernetes

**Platform:** Terraform

**Severity:** Medium

**Category:** Insecure Defaults

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

- [Provider Reference](https://registry.terraform.io/providers/hashicorp/kubernetes/latest/docs/resources/role_binding#subject)

### Description{% #description %}

No `RoleBinding` or `ClusterRoleBinding` should bind to the default `ServiceAccount`. The rule detects `resource.kubernetes_role_binding` entries where `subject[].kind` is `ServiceAccount` and `subject[].name` is `default`. Bindings to the default `ServiceAccount` can grant unintended privileges; prefer distinct service accounts to limit access.

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

```terraform
resource "kubernetes_role_binding" "example2" {
  metadata {
    name      = "terraform-example"
    namespace = "default"
  }
  role_ref {
    api_group = "rbac.authorization.k8s.io"
    kind      = "Role"
    name      = "admin"
  }
  subject {
    kind      = "User"
    name      = "admin"
    api_group = "rbac.authorization.k8s.io"
  }
  subject {
    kind      = "ServiceAccount"
    name      = "serviceExample"
    namespace = "kube-system"
  }
  subject {
    kind      = "Group"
    name      = "system:masters"
    api_group = "rbac.authorization.k8s.io"
  }
}
```

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

```terraform
resource "kubernetes_role_binding" "example" {
  metadata {
    name      = "terraform-example"
    namespace = "default"
  }
  role_ref {
    api_group = "rbac.authorization.k8s.io"
    kind      = "Role"
    name      = "admin"
  }
  subject {
    kind      = "User"
    name      = "admin"
    api_group = "rbac.authorization.k8s.io"
  }
  subject {
    kind      = "ServiceAccount"
    name      = "default"
    namespace = "kube-system"
  }
  subject {
    kind      = "Group"
    name      = "system:masters"
    api_group = "rbac.authorization.k8s.io"
  }
}
```