Kubernetes Integration
ggscout supports integration with Kubernetes clusters to collect secrets and gather information about various Kubernetes resources. This integration provides comprehensive visibility into both sensitive data and resource configurations within your clusters.
Supported Features
- Multiple resource types: Secrets, ConfigMaps, Deployments, Service Accounts, and External Secrets
- Comprehensive data collection: Collects both secrets and general resource information
- Namespace filtering: Target specific namespaces using glob patterns
- Multiple authentication methods: KubeConfig file or in-cluster authentication
- Multi-cluster support: Monitor multiple Kubernetes clusters simultaneously
- Resource filtering: Fine-grained control over which resources to scan
The Kubernetes integration is read-only and does not support writing secrets back to the cluster.
Supported Resource Types
ggscout can scan the following Kubernetes API resources:
| Resource Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Secrets | Native Kubernetes Secret resources |
| ConfigMaps | Configuration data stored in the cluster |
| Deployments | Application deployment configurations |
| Service Accounts | Kubernetes service account configurations |
| External Secrets | External Secrets Operator resources |
Configuration
To configure ggscout to work with Kubernetes, add the following configuration to your ggscout.toml file:
KubeConfig File Authentication
For external access to Kubernetes clusters using a kubeconfig file:
[sources.k8s-production]
type = "kubernetes"
config_source = "kubeconfigfile"
kubeconfig_path = "/path/to/kubeconfig" # Optional, defaults to ~/.kube/config
contexts = ["production-cluster", "staging-cluster"] # Optional, all contexts if not specified
namespaces = ["default", "production-*", "app-*"] # Optional, all namespaces if not specified
env = "production"
owner = "devops-team@example.com"
In-Cluster Authentication
For ggscout running inside a Kubernetes cluster:
[sources.k8s-cluster]
type = "kubernetes"
config_source = "incluster"
name = "production-cluster" # Cluster name (required for in-cluster mode)
namespaces = ["default", "production-*"] # Optional namespace filtering
env = "production"
owner = "devops-team@example.com"
Configuration Parameters
| Parameter | Description | Required | Default Value |
|---|---|---|---|
type | Must be set to "kubernetes" | Yes | |
config_source | Authentication method: "kubeconfigfile" or "incluster" | Yes | |
namespaces | List of namespace patterns to scan | No | |
env | Default environment of this source's secrets. GitGuardian infers a per-secret environment and falls back to this value | No | |
owner | Owner of this source (an email, usually of an employee or a team) | No | |
mode | Integration mode (only "read" is supported for Kubernetes) | No | "read" |
GitGuardian infers the environment of each Secret from its labels such as env or environment, and uses the source-level env otherwise. The namespace is not read, because it names a team or an application more often than an environment.
KubeConfig File Parameters
| Parameter | Description | Required | Default Value |
|---|---|---|---|
kubeconfig_path | Path to kubeconfig file | No | ~/.kube/config |
contexts | List of contexts to use from kubeconfig | No |
In-Cluster Parameters
| Parameter | Description | Required | Default Value |
|---|---|---|---|
name | Name of the Kubernetes cluster | Yes |
Setting Up Authentication
Authentication Setup Steps
- Configure a ClusterRole
The easiest way to set up your kubernetes integration is to use our ggscout Helm charts. Then you only need to configure this in your values.yaml:
clusterRole:
create: true
If you don't use our Helm charts, check the role we are using to see the list of required rules
Also see this full values.yaml example.
Namespace Filtering
Use glob patterns to control which namespaces ggscout scans:
# Scan specific namespaces
namespaces = ["production", "staging", "development"]
# Use wildcards (only at the end) to match patterns
namespaces = ["app-*", "service-*"]
# Combine exact matches and patterns
namespaces = ["default", "kube-system", "production-*"]
Resource Filtering
Control which specific resources are scanned using include/exclude filters:
[sources.k8s-filtered]
type = "kubernetes"
config_source = "incluster"
name = "production-cluster"
# Include filters - only scan these resources
[[sources.k8s-filtered.include]]
resource_ids = ["secret:*", "configmap:*"]
# Exclude filters - skip these resources
[[sources.k8s-filtered.exclude]]
resource_ids = ["secret:kube-system/*"]
Multi-Cluster Configuration
Monitor multiple Kubernetes clusters by defining multiple sources:
[sources.k8s-production]
type = "kubernetes"
config_source = "kubeconfigfile"
contexts = ["production"]
env = "production"
owner = "devops-team@example.com"
[sources.k8s-staging]
type = "kubernetes"
config_source = "kubeconfigfile"
contexts = ["staging"]
env = "staging"
owner = "devops-team@example.com"
[sources.k8s-development]
type = "kubernetes"
config_source = "incluster"
name = "dev-cluster"
env = "development"
owner = "devops-team@example.com"
Troubleshooting
Common Issues
Authentication Failures
- Verify kubeconfig file path and permissions
- Check RBAC permissions for the configured user/service account
- Ensure cluster connectivity
Missing Resources
- Confirm RBAC permissions include all required resource types
- Check namespace filtering configuration
- Verify resource filtering rules
Performance Issues
- Reduce scope with namespace filtering
- Use resource filtering to limit scanned resource types
- Consider cluster size and API rate limits
