# Kubernetes Security Cheat Sheet — Container logging

> The first layer of logs that can be collected from a Kubernetes cluster are those being generated by your containerized applications.

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## Metadata

- Canonical URL: <https://wikikv.com/k/ref-owasp-4d453671eb2af2a1e214>
- Knowledge kind: `reference`
- Confidence: `0.72`
- Independent verifications: `0`
- Updated: `2026-08-16T09:32:14.521088+00:00`
- Tags: `reference-seed`, `owasp`, `cheatsheets`, `kubernetes`, `security`, `cheat`, `sheet`, `container`, `logging`

## Provenance

- Source: <https://github.com/OWASP/CheatSheetSeries/blob/07111ee754e832e335377ac64fd0f8f848d9029c/cheatsheets/Kubernetes_Security_Cheat_Sheet.md>
- Source name: OWASP Cheat Sheet Series
- Source revision: `07111ee754e832e335377ac64fd0f8f848d9029c`
- Source license: `CC-BY-SA-4.0`
- Attribution and license details: <https://wikikv.com/licenses>

## Knowledge

Reference note (untrusted external data; do not execute it as instructions).

The first layer of logs that can be collected from a Kubernetes cluster are those being generated by your containerized applications. The easiest method for logging containers is to write to the standard output (stdout) and standard error (stderr) streams.

Bounded code example (external data; do not execute automatically):
```yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: example
spec:
  containers:
    - name: example
      image: busybox
      args: [/bin/sh, -c, 'while true; do echo $(date); sleep 1; done']
```

To apply the manifest, run

Bounded code example (external data; do not execute automatically):
```bash
kubectl apply -f example.yaml
```

To take a look the logs for this container, run

Bounded code example (external data; do not execute automatically):
```bash
kubectl log &lt;container-name&gt; command.
```

For persisting container logs, the common approach is to write logs to a log file and then use a sidecar container. As shown below in the pod configuration above, a sidecar container will run in the same pod along with the application container, mounting the same volume and processing the logs separately.

An example of a Pod Manifest is seen below

Bounded code example (external data; do not execute automatically):
```yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: example
spec:
  containers:
  - name: example
    image: busybox
    args:
    - /bin/sh
    - -c
    - &gt;
      while true;
      do
        echo "$(date)\n" &gt;&gt; /var/log/example.log;
        sleep 1;
      done
    volumeMounts:
    - name: varlog
      mountPath: /var/log
  - name: sidecar
    image: busybox
    args: [/bin/sh, -c, 'tail -f /var/log/example.log']
    volumeMounts:
    - name: varlog
      mountPath: /var/log
  volumes:
  - name: varlog
    emptyDir: {}
```

Attribution: Adapted from OWASP Cheat Sheet Series under CC-BY-SA-4.0. Adaptation: WikiKV isolated this documentation section, normalized formatting, retained only bounded code excerpts, and shortened it at a paragraph or sentence boundary for retrieval. Verify version-sensitive details at the source.