> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://cortex-docs.paloaltonetworks.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://cortex-docs.paloaltonetworks.com/appsec-rules/iac-security/monitoring/appsec-gcp-69.md).

# The GKE metadata server is disabled misconfiguration detected in code

## Rule Details

|                        |                                           |
| ---------------------- | ----------------------------------------- |
| Cortex AppSec Rule ID  | APPSEC\_GCP\_69                           |
| Category - Subcategory | Kubernetes - Management Services Exposure |
| Provider               | GCP                                       |
| Severity               | LOW                                       |
| Framework              | Terraform, Terraform Plan                 |

## Impact

Running the GKE Metadata Server prevents workloads from accessing sensitive instance metadata and facilitates Workload Identity. Every node stores its metadata on a metadata server. Some of this metadata, such as kubelet credentials and the VM instance identity token, is sensitive and should not be exposed to a Kubernetes workload. Enabling the GKE Metadata server prevents pods (that are not running on the host network) from accessing this metadata and facilitates Workload Identity. When unspecified, the default setting allows running pods to have full access to the node's underlying metadata server.

## How to Fix

*Resource:* google\_container\_cluster / google\_container\_node\_pool

* *Arguments:* node\_config.workload\_metadata\_config.node\_metadata \[source,go]

***

resource "google\_container\_cluster" "example" { name = var.name location = var.location initial\_node\_count = 1 project = data.google\_project.project.name

* node\_config {
* workload\_metadata\_config {
* node\_metadata = "GKE\_METADATA\_SERVER"
* }
* }

}

## ", }


---

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