# Cis K8S V1120 1.1.11

> Ensure that the etcd data directory permissions are set to 700 or more restrictive (Automated)

- Skill: `cyberstrikeus/cis-k8s-v1120-1-1-11` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add cyberstrikeus/cis-k8s-v1120-1-1-11`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/cyberstrikeus/cis-k8s-v1120-1-1-11/raw
- Safety review: PASS (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: DevOps & Infra
- Author: cyberstrikeus (https://skillmd.com/u/cyberstrikeus)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/cyberstrikeus/cis-k8s-v1120-1-1-11

---


# 1.1.11 Ensure that the etcd data directory permissions are set to 700 or more restrictive (Automated)

## Profile Applicability

- Level 1 - Master Node

## Description

Ensure that the etcd data directory has permissions of `700` or more restrictive.

## Rationale

etcd is a highly-available key-value store used by Kubernetes deployments for persistent storage of all of its REST API objects. This data directory should be protected from any unauthorized reads or writes. It should not be readable or writable by any group members or the world.

## Impact

None

## Audit

On the etcd server node, get the etcd data directory, passed as an argument `--data-dir`, from the below command:

```bash
ps -ef | grep etcd
```

Run the below command (based on the etcd data directory found above). For example,

```bash
stat -c %a /var/lib/etcd
```

Verify that the permissions are `700` or more restrictive.

## Remediation

On the etcd server node, get the etcd data directory, passed as an argument `--data-dir`, from the below command:

```bash
ps -ef | grep etcd
```

Run the below command (based on the etcd data directory found above). For example,

```bash
chmod 700 /var/lib/etcd
```

## Default Value

By default, etcd data directory has permissions of `755`.

## References

1. [https://coreos.com/etcd/docs/latest/op-guide/configuration.html#data-dir](https://coreos.com/etcd/docs/latest/op-guide/configuration.html#data-dir)
2. [https://kubernetes.io/docs/admin/etcd/](https://kubernetes.io/docs/admin/etcd/)

## CIS Controls

| Controls Version | Control                                               | IG 1 | IG 2 | IG 3 |
| ---------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | ---- | ---- | ---- |
| v8               | 3.3 Configure Data Access Control Lists               | \*   | \*   | \*   |
| v7               | 14.6 Protect Information through Access Control Lists | \*   | \*   | \*   |