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kubernetes

Regular pod containers have readiness probes configured

core_readiness_probe_configured
Service: coreSeverity: medium
OfficialBuilt-inVerified
Categories:resilience
Resource Type:KubernetesPod

Ensure each regular pod container has a readiness probe configured to signal when it is ready to serve traffic.

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Risk

Without readiness probes, services may receive traffic before containers are ready, causing errors.

Run this check with Prowler

Run in Prowler Cloud
Run
prowler kubernetes --checks core_readiness_probe_configured

Recommendation

Add readiness probes to prevent routing traffic to unready containers.

Remediation

CLI

kubectl patch deployment/<name> -n <namespace> --type='json' -p='[{"op":"add","path":"/spec/template/spec/containers/0/readinessProbe","value":{"httpGet":{"path":"/ready","port":8080},"initialDelaySeconds":5,"periodSeconds":5}}]'

NativeIaC

# Example readiness probe
readinessProbe:
  httpGet:
    path: /ready
    port: 8080
  initialDelaySeconds: 5
  periodSeconds: 5

Other

1Add a `readinessProbe` to the container spec in Deployments/Pods.
2Ensure the probe accurately reflects service readiness.

Check Code

from prowler.lib.check.models import Check, Check_Report_Kubernetes
from prowler.providers.kubernetes.services.core.core_client import core_client


class core_readiness_probe_configured(Check):
    """Check whether regular pod containers have readiness probes configured."""

    def execute(self) -> list[Check_Report_Kubernetes]:
        """Execute the Kubernetes pod readiness probe check.

        Returns:
            List of check reports for Kubernetes pods.
        """
        findings = []
        for pod in core_client.pods.values():
            report = Check_Report_Kubernetes(metadata=self.metadata(), resource=pod)
            report.status = "PASS"
            report.status_extended = f"Pod {pod.name} has readiness probes configured for all regular containers."

            for container in (pod.containers or {}).values():
                if not container.readiness_probe:
                    report.status = "FAIL"
                    report.status_extended = f"Pod {pod.name} container {container.name} does not have a readiness probe configured."
                    break

            findings.append(report)

        return findings

References