Kubescape

Comprehensive Kubernetes Security from Development to Runtime

Kubescape is an open-source Kubernetes security platform that provides comprehensive security coverage, from left to right across the entire development and deployment lifecycle. It offers hardening, posture management, and runtime security capabilities to ensure robust protection for Kubernetes environments.

Kubescape was created by ARMO and is a Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) incubating project.

Please star ⭐ the repo if you want us to continue developing and improving Kubescape!

📑 Table of Contents

• Features
• Demo
• Quick Start
• Installation
• CLI Commands
• Usage Examples
• Architecture
• In-Cluster Operator
• Integrations
• Community
• Changelog
• License

✨ Features

🎬 Demo

🚀 Quick Start

1. Install Kubescape

curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubescape/kubescape/master/install.sh | /bin/bash

💡 See Installation for more options (Homebrew, Krew, Windows, etc.)

2. Run Your First Scan

# Scan your current cluster
kubescape scan

# Scan a specific YAML file or directory
kubescape scan /path/to/manifests/

# Scan a container image for vulnerabilities
kubescape scan image nginx:latest

3. Explore the Results

Kubescape provides a detailed security posture overview including:

• Control plane security status
• Access control risks
• Workload misconfigurations
• Network policy gaps
• Compliance scores (MITRE, NSA)

📦 Installation

One-Line Install (Linux/macOS)

curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubescape/kubescape/master/install.sh | /bin/bash

Package Managers

Windows (PowerShell)

iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubescape/kubescape/master/install.ps1 | iex

📖 Full Installation Guide →

🛠️ CLI Commands

Kubescape provides a comprehensive CLI with the following commands:

📖 Usage Examples

Scanning

Scan a Running Cluster

# Default scan (all frameworks)
kubescape scan

# Scan with a specific framework
kubescape scan framework nsa
kubescape scan framework mitre
kubescape scan framework cis-v1.23-t1.0.1

# Scan a specific control
kubescape scan control C-0005 -v

Scan Files and Repositories

# Scan local YAML files
kubescape scan /path/to/manifests/

# Scan a Helm chart
kubescape scan /path/to/helm/chart/

# Scan a Git repository
kubescape scan https://github.com/kubescape/kubescape

# Scan with Kustomize
kubescape scan /path/to/kustomize/directory/

Helm scans use only dependencies already vendored in charts/ and do not fetch dependencies or modify the chart directory. Missing dependencies produce a warning; rendering is attempted, but a missing dependency can prevent the entire chart from rendering. To include them, review their sources and explicitly prepare dependencies with Helm before scanning. See scanning Helm charts.

Scan Options

# Include/exclude namespaces
kubescape scan --include-namespaces production,staging
kubescape scan --exclude-namespaces kube-system,kube-public

# Use alternative kubeconfig
kubescape scan --kubeconfig /path/to/kubeconfig

# Set compliance threshold (exit code 1 if below threshold).
# Score thresholds apply to the framework/control subcommands and to
# --view resource|control.
kubescape scan framework nsa --compliance-threshold 80
kubescape scan --view resource --compliance-threshold 80

# Set severity threshold
kubescape scan --severity-threshold high

Report Metadata Protection

# Hide sensitive metadata using deterministic pseudonymization
kubescape scan --hide

# Set exactly one master key before encrypting and decrypting (at least 16 characters)
export KUBESCAPE_MASTER_KEY="your-secure-passphrase"

# Encrypt sensitive metadata into a JSON report
kubescape scan --encrypt --format json --output encrypted-report.json

# Decrypt the encrypted report
kubescape decrypt encrypted-report.json > decrypted-report.json

Output Formats

# JSON output
kubescape scan --format json --output results.json

# JUnit XML (for CI/CD)
kubescape scan --format junit --output results.xml

# SARIF (for GitHub Code Scanning)
kubescape scan --format sarif --output results.sarif

# HTML report
kubescape scan --format html --output report.html

# PDF report
kubescape scan --format pdf --output report.pdf

# CSV report
kubescape scan --format csv --output results.csv

Image Scanning

# Scan a public image
kubescape scan image nginx:1.21

# Scan with verbose output
kubescape scan image nginx:1.21 -v

# Scan a private registry image
kubescape scan image myregistry/myimage:tag --username user --password pass

# Scan a specific variant from a multi-architecture image index
kubescape scan image nginx:1.27 --platform linux/amd64

For workload scans, Kubescape can infer image platforms from scheduled Nodes, node selectors, and required node affinity. Use --image-platform with --scan-images to override inference. See multi-architecture image scanning for details.

Using an Offline Grype Database

# Start the offline Grype-DB server (using docker)
docker run --rm -p8080:8080 quay.io/kubescape/grype-offline-db:v6-latest

# Scan an image using the offline database:
kubescape scan image --grype-db-url http://localhost:8080/databases/ nginx:latest

Auto-Fix

Automatically fix misconfigurations in your manifest files:

# First, scan and save results to JSON
kubescape scan /path/to/manifests --format json --output results.json

# Then apply fixes
kubescape fix results.json

# Dry run (preview changes without applying)
kubescape fix results.json --dry-run

# Apply fixes without confirmation prompts
kubescape fix results.json --no-confirm

# Review each resource's changes and approve them one by one
kubescape fix results.json --interactive

# Keep the originals untouched: write the fixed copies to a directory instead
kubescape fix results.json --output-dir ./fixed

# Fix a cluster scan: the patched manifests are printed, never applied for you
kubescape scan --format json --output cluster.json
kubescape fix cluster.json | kubectl apply -f -

Image Patching

Patch container images to fix OS-level vulnerabilities:

# Start buildkitd (required)
sudo buildkitd &

# Patch an image
sudo kubescape patch --image docker.io/library/nginx:1.22

# Specify custom output tag
sudo kubescape patch --image nginx:1.22 --tag nginx:1.22-patched

# See detailed vulnerability report
sudo kubescape patch --image nginx:1.22 -v

📖 Full Patch Command Documentation →

List Frameworks and Controls

# List available frameworks
kubescape list frameworks

# List all controls
kubescape list controls

# Output as JSON
kubescape list controls --format json

Offline Support

Download artifacts for air-gapped environments:

# Download all artifacts
kubescape download artifacts --output /path/to/offline/dir

# Download a specific framework
kubescape download framework nsa --output /path/to/nsa.json

# Scan using downloaded artifacts
kubescape scan --use-artifacts-from /path/to/offline/dir

Configuration

# View current configuration
kubescape config view

# Set account ID
kubescape config set accountID <your-account-id>

# Delete cached configuration
kubescape config delete

Operator Commands

Interact with the in-cluster Kubescape operator:

# Trigger a configuration scan
kubescape operator scan configurations

# Trigger a vulnerability scan
kubescape operator scan vulnerabilities

Validating Admission Policies

Manage Kubernetes Validating Admission Policies:

# Deploy the Kubescape CEL admission policy library
kubescape vap deploy-library | kubectl apply -f -

# Create a policy binding
kubescape vap create-policy-binding \
  --name my-policy-binding \
  --policy c-0016 \
  --namespace my-namespace | kubectl apply -f -

MCP Server

Start an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for AI assistant integration:

kubescape mcpserver

The MCP server exposes Kubescape's vulnerability and configuration scan data to AI assistants, enabling natural language queries about your cluster's security posture.

Available MCP Tools:

• list_vulnerability_manifests - Discover vulnerability manifests
• list_vulnerabilities_in_manifest - List CVEs in a manifest
• list_vulnerability_matches_for_cve - Get details for a specific CVE
• list_configuration_security_scan_manifests - List configuration scan results
• get_configuration_security_scan_manifest - Get configuration scan details

🏗️ Architecture

Kubescape can run in two modes:

CLI Mode

The CLI is a standalone tool that scans clusters, files, and images on-demand.

Key Components:

• Open Policy Agent (OPA) - Policy evaluation engine
• Regolibrary - Library of security controls
• Grype - Image vulnerability scanning
• Copacetic - Image patching

Operator Mode (In-Cluster)

For continuous monitoring, deploy the Kubescape operator via Helm.

Additional Capabilities:

• Continuous configuration scanning
• Image vulnerability scanning
• Runtime analysis with eBPF
• Network policy generation

📖 Full Architecture Documentation →

☸️ In-Cluster Operator

The Kubescape operator provides continuous security monitoring in your cluster:

# Add the Kubescape Helm repository
helm repo add kubescape https://kubescape.github.io/helm-charts/

# Install the operator
helm upgrade --install kubescape kubescape/kubescape-operator \
  --namespace kubescape \
  --create-namespace

Operator Features:

• 🔄 Continuous misconfiguration scanning
• 🐳 Image vulnerability scanning for all workloads
• 🔍 Runtime threat detection (eBPF-based)
• 🌐 Network policy generation
• 📈 Prometheus metrics integration

📖 Operator Installation Guide →

🔌 Integrations

CI/CD

IDE Extensions

Where You Can Use Kubescape

👥 Community

Kubescape is a CNCF incubating project with an active community.

Get Involved

• 💬 Slack - Users Channel - Ask questions, get help
• 💬 Slack - Developers Channel - Contribute to development
• 🐛 GitHub Issues - Report bugs and request features
• 📋 Project Board - See what we're working on
• 🗺️ Roadmap - Future plans

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see our:

• Contributing Guide
• Code of Conduct

Community Resources

• Community Info
• Governance
• Security Policy
• Maintainers

Contributors

Changelog

Kubescape changes are tracked on the releases page.

License

Copyright 2021-2025, the Kubescape Authors. All rights reserved.

Kubescape is released under the Apache 2.0 license.

Kubescape is a Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) incubating project and was contributed by ARMO.