Configure Kubernetes API Server Maximum Audit Log Size (Manual)
Scanned 5/30/2026
Install via CLI
openskills install CyberStrikeus/CyberStrike---
name: cis-ocp-v190-1.2.21
description: "Configure Kubernetes API Server Maximum Audit Log Size (Manual)"
category: cis-openshift
version: "1.9.0"
author: cyberstrike-official
tags: [cis, openshift, kubernetes, redhat, control-plane, api-server, audit, log-size]
cis_id: "1.2.21"
cis_benchmark: "CIS Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform Benchmark v1.9.0"
tech_stack: [kubernetes, openshift, redhat]
cwe_ids: []
chains_with: []
prerequisites: []
severity_boost: {}
---
# CIS Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform Benchmark v1.9.0 - Control 1.2.21
## Profile Applicability
- **Level:** 1
## Description
Audit logs are rotated upon reaching a maximum size, which is set to 100 MB or greater by default.
## Rationale
OpenShift automatically rotates the log files. Retaining old log files ensures that you would have sufficient log data available for carrying out any investigation or correlation. If you have set file size of 100 MB and the number of old log files to keep as 10, you would have approximately 1 GB of log data that you could potentially use for your analysis.
## Impact
Overriding can be done by using unsupportedConfigOverrides, it is NOT supported by Red Hat and will block future OpenShift Container Platform Upgrades.
## Audit Procedure
OpenShift audit works at the API server level, logging all requests coming to the server. Configure via `audit-log-maxsize`.
Run the following command:
```bash
oc get configmap config -n openshift-kube-apiserver -ojson | jq -r '.data["config.yaml"]' | jq -r '.apiServerArguments["audit-log-maxsize"][]?'
```
Verify that the `audit-log-maxsize` argument is set to `100` or greater.
## Remediation
The `audit-log-maxsize` parameter is set by default by Red Hat and not supported to change.
## Default Value
By default, auditing is enabled.
## References
1. https://access.redhat.com/solutions/4262201
2. https://docs.openshift.com/container-platform/4.5/nodes/nodes/nodes-nodes-audit-log.html
3. https://docs.openshift.com/container-platform/4.5/operators/operator-reference.html#kube-apiserver-operator_red-hat-operators
4. https://docs.openshift.com/container-platform/4.5/operators/operator-reference.html#openshift-apiserver-operator_red-hat-operators
5. https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/command-line-tools-reference/kube-apiserver/
6. https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/debug-application-cluster/audit/
7. https://github.com/kubernetes/features/issues/22
8. https://github.com/ComplianceAsCode/content/blob/master/applications/openshift/api-server/api_server_audit_log_maxsize/rule.yml
9. https://access.redhat.com/solutions/5993251
## CIS Controls
| Controls Version | Control | IG 1 | IG 2 | IG 3 |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------- | ---- | ---- | ---- |
| v8 | 8.3 Ensure Adequate Audit Log Storage | \* | \* | \* |
| v7 | 6.4 Ensure adequate storage for logs | | \* | \* |
## MITRE ATT&CK Mappings
| Techniques / Sub-techniques | Tactics | Mitigations |
| --------------------------- | -------------- | ----------- |
| T1543 | TA0003, TA0004 | M1047 |
## Profile
**Level 1** (Manual)
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