# Install kube-bench with Homebrew, Nix Checks Kubernetes deployment against security best practices (CIS Benchmark). Version 0.15.6 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-27. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#kube-bench. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:kube-bench ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install kube-bench ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ### Linux - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#kube-bench ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ku/kube-bench/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:kube-bench - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Version:** 0.15.6 - **Source summary:** Checks Kubernetes deployment against security best practices (CIS Benchmark) - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Last updated:** 2026-07-27T21:58:42+02:00 - **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00 ## Executables - kube-bench (alias) ## Install behavior - Bottle: not available ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-03 - Package-manager version: 0.15.6 ## Project history and usage kube-bench is Aqua Security's Kubernetes compliance checker for the CIS Kubernetes Benchmark. It turns benchmark controls into executable YAML-configured tests and reports whether a cluster is deployed according to documented security recommendations. ### Project history The aquasecurity/kube-bench repository was created on 2017-06-19, during the period when Kubernetes security hardening was moving from ad hoc guidance into repeatable benchmark checks. The README states that kube-bench implements the CIS Kubernetes Benchmark as closely as possible and asks users to distinguish tool bugs from benchmark issues. The project architecture deliberately keeps test definitions in YAML files so they can change as benchmark specifications evolve. That design let kube-bench follow new Kubernetes versions, managed-service variants, OpenShift profiles, k3s/RKE/RKE2 profiles, and STIG/hardening-guide sources without rewriting the executable for every control set. ### Adoption history kube-bench became one of the standard open source ways to run CIS checks against Kubernetes. Its README documents multiple execution modes, including running directly on a host, running inside a pod or job, and using Docker images, while package managers such as Homebrew and Nix made the binary available for local installation. Aqua later connected the same benchmark-checking idea to Trivy and Trivy Operator. The kube-bench README states that both Trivy CLI and Trivy Operator support CIS Kubernetes Benchmark scanning, and Aqua's Starboard/Trivy-era material shows kube-bench checks being pulled into broader cloud-native security workflows. ### How it is used kube-bench can run as a Kubernetes Job and inspect logs for results, but host-level checks require access to process namespaces and host configuration directories. By default it chooses a test set based on the Kubernetes version, while the documented platform matrix maps CIS, STIG, and hardening-guide sources to kube-bench config names. ### Why package nerds care For package nerds, kube-bench is the rare CLI where packaging, data files, and compliance semantics are inseparable. Shipping the right binary is not enough; the package also needs the benchmark configuration tree that maps security-control documents to concrete filesystem, API, and process checks. ### Timeline - 2017-06-19: aquasecurity/kube-bench repository created on GitHub. - 2022-10-16: kube-bench v0.6.10 announcement listed EKS Benchmark v1.1.0 and k3s CIS-1.6 support. - 2023-04-29: Aqua announced Kubernetes CIS benchmark scanning availability in Trivy in a kube-bench GitHub discussion. - 2025-2026: kube-bench docs mapped CIS Kubernetes Benchmark configs through 1.12, plus GKE, EKS, AKS, ACK, OpenShift, k3s, RKE, RKE2, TKGI, and STIG profiles. ### Related projects - kube-bench is related to the CIS Kubernetes Benchmark, CIS Workbench, Aqua Trivy, Trivy Operator, Starboard Operator, Kubernetes hardening guides, managed Kubernetes service benchmarks, and OpenShift security baselines. ### Sources - - - - - - - - ## Security Notes infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal. - **Geiger risk:** orange / medium - infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal ## Configuration and credential file locations These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval. ## Configuration files - Unix: /opt/kube-bench/cfg/config.yaml ## Credential files - Unix: $KUBECONFIG, ~/.kube/config ## Other Package-Manager Records - Nix - kube-bench: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ku/kube-bench/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/kube-bench.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/kube-bench.yml) ## Sources - pkg.so package database - Geiger risk classifier - curated configuration and credential file locations - curated package history - pkgdb category and tag curation - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph