🛡️Kyverno

NEW

A Kubernetes-native policy engine that validates, mutates, and generates resources using declarative rules.

DESCRIPTION

Kyverno is an open-source, Kubernetes-native policy management tool that treats policies as Kubernetes resources, avoiding the need for a new policy language. It integrates with Kubernetes admission webhooks to validate and mutate incoming resources and can also generate resources to enforce standards and defaults. Kyverno supports policy reporting, auditing, and exceptions, and aligns with GitOps workflows by allowing policies to be versioned, tested, and deployed like application manifests. Typical use cases include enforcing security baselines, ensuring configuration consistency, and automating resource generation. It is widely adopted in cloud-native environments to implement policy-as-code.

ALTERNATIVE DEFINITIONS

Kyverno

Kyverno is a policy engine designed for Kubernetes. Kyverno enables users to manage policies as Kubernetes resources, and to validate, mutate, and generate configurations using Kubernetes admission controllers.

Highlights Kubernetes-native design and managing policies as Kubernetes resources.

Source

GitHub

Kyverno is a Kubernetes native policy management engine built to enforce best practices, security, and compliance policies for Kubernetes workloads.

Emphasizes policy management for best practices, security, and compliance.

Source

CNCF

Kyverno is a policy engine for Kubernetes that allows you to validate, mutate, and generate resource configurations using declarative policies.

Concise summary of core validate, mutate, and generate capabilities.

Source

RELATED TERMS

Kubernetes Governance as Code Admission Controller OPA Gatekeeper Pod Security Standards RBAC Mutating Admission Webhook Validating Admission Webhook ClusterPolicy GitOps

COMPETING TERMS

Open Policy Agent Gatekeeper Pod Security Admission

KNOWLEDGE AREAS

Platform & Tooling Infrastructure Cloud Data Security Data Management Software Engineering Data Governance

TARGET AUDIENCE

DevOps Engineer Security Architect Cloud Architect Cybersecurity Engineer Application Administrator IT Manager Software Developer Chief Information Security Officer Solution Architect

EXTERNAL SOURCES

• Wikipedia - Kyverno
• Kyverno - Official introduction and capabilities
• CNCF - CNCF project overview entry
• Kyverno - Source code and release notes
• Kubernetes - Admission controller concepts

TOP QUESTIONS

What makes Kyverno a Kubernetes-native policy engine?

Kyverno manages policies as Kubernetes resources written in YAML, integrates via admission webhooks, and requires no separate DSL, making it feel natural within Kubernetes operations.

Category: Definition

How does Kyverno validate and mutate resources in Kubernetes?

Kyverno uses Validating and Mutating Admission Webhooks to enforce policies at request time, verifying configurations and applying defaults or transformations before resources are persisted.

Category: Management

Why use Kyverno instead of OPA Gatekeeper?

Kyverno emphasizes Kubernetes-native YAML policies and built-in generate features, while Gatekeeper uses Rego for flexible logic. Choice depends on team skills and policy complexity.

Category: Alternatives

How does Kyverno support security baselines and compliance?

Kyverno enforces Pod Security Standards, image verification, and required labels/annotations, providing audits and reports to prove conformance across clusters.

Category: Requirements

What are common mistakes when adopting Kyverno?

Overly broad policies can block critical changes; insufficient test coverage risks production failures; ignoring exceptions and scoping leads to unintended enforcement.

Category: Mistakes

How do I start using Kyverno in a GitOps workflow?

Version policies alongside manifests, validate them in CI, use admission controls for enforcement, and monitor policy reports to continuously improve coverage.

Category: HowTo

What is the risk of misconfiguring Kyverno policies?

Misconfiguration can block deployments, cause cascading failures, or allow insecure resources. Start with audit mode and incrementally enforce critical rules.

Category: Risks

Can Kyverno generate missing Kubernetes resources automatically?

Yes. Kyverno can generate default ConfigMaps, Secrets, or other resources to ensure consistency and reduce manual steps.

Category: Capabilities

How does Kyverno integrate with Pod Security Standards?

Kyverno ships community policies and can enforce PSS-equivalent rules, complementing or replacing Pod Security Admission where desired.

Category: Integration