cis-ocp-vm-v100-1-2

name	cis-ocp-vm-v100-1-2
description	Enable nonRoot feature gate in OCPvirt prior to 4.18 (Automated)
category	cis-openshift-virtualization
version	1.0
author	cyberstrike-official
tags	["cis","openshift","kubernetes","openshift-virtualization","kubevirt","vm","platform-configuration","feature-gate","nonroot","privilege"]
cis_id	1.2
cis_benchmark	CIS Redhat OpenShift Virtual Machine Extension Benchmark v1.0.0
tech_stack	["kubernetes","openshift","openshift-virtualization","kubevirt"]
cwe_ids	[]
chains_with	[]
prerequisites	[]
severity_boost	{}

CIS 1.2 — Enable nonRoot feature gate in OCPvirt prior to 4.18

Profile Applicability

• Level 1

Description

Root is a default account with elevated privileges, including full administrative access to both security and non-security related functions. The "nonRoot" feature gate in OpenShift environments ensures virtual machine access is restricted to resources and functionality required to operate.

Rationale

Unauthorized access to a root account without restrictions implemented by the nonRoot feature introduces the risk of unintended or unauthorized access to privilege elevation and the ability to perform administrative tasks. This feature is a foundational mechanism in implementing role and attribute based access controls.

Impact

Disabling root introduces the need to implement alternate identification and authentication methods to access administrative functions.

Audit Procedure

Use the following command to list nonRoot settings for hyper converged resources:

$ oc get hyperconverged kubevirt-hyperconverged -n openshift-cnv -ojsonpath='{.spec.featureGates.nonRoot}'

Verify the output is true. nonRoot is deprecated in Openshift Virtualization from 4.18, and the secure default is enforced.

Remediation

Enable nonRoot and set its value to True.

$ oc patch hyperconverged kubevirt-hyperconverged -n openshift-cnv --type='json' -p='[
    {"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/featureGates/nonRoot", "value": true },
]'

Default Value

By default, KubeVirt workloads run in nonRoot mode and it sets to false. From 4.18, this field will be ignored, and always be enabled.

References

• CIS Redhat OpenShift Virtual Machine Extension Benchmark v1.0.0, Section 1.2

CIS Controls

Controls Version	Control	IG 1	IG 2	IG 3
v8	4.1 Establish and Maintain a Secure Configuration Process	Y	Y	Y
v7	5.1 Establish Secure Configurations	Y	Y	Y

MITRE ATT&CK Mappings