Troubleshooting Role Assumption from a Kubernetes Docker Container

Hi there!

I’ve encountered a similar issue when trying to assume a service account role from a Docker container in a Kubernetes cluster. Here are some steps you can take to troubleshoot this issue:

1. Check IAM Role Trust Policy:

   Make sure the IAM role’s trust policy allows the service account from your Kubernetes cluster to assume the role. It should have a statement like:

   {
       "Effect": "Allow",
       "Principal": {
           "Federated": "arn:aws:iam::YOUR_ACCOUNT_ID:oidc-provider/PROVIDER_URL"
       },
       "Action": "sts:AssumeRole"
   }
   

2. Verify Kubernetes Service Account:

   Ensure that your Kubernetes service account is annotated properly to link with the IAM role. The annotation should look something like this:

   apiVersion: v1
   kind: ServiceAccount
   metadata:
     name: your-service-account
     annotations:
       eks.amazonaws.com/role-arn: arn:aws:iam::YOUR_ACCOUNT_ID:role/YourRoleName
   

3. Inspect Pod’s IAM Role:

   Log into your pod and run the command:

   curl 169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/iam/security-credentials/

   This should return the role name that the pod is using. Ensure it’s the correct one.

4. Check Logs for Errors:

   Inspect the logs of your application and look specifically for any errors related to AWS SDK or assumption of roles. Implement verbose logging if possible.

5. Test AWS CLI Inside the Pod:

   If you have the AWS CLI installed in your container, try assuming the role directly with:

   aws sts assume-role --role-arn arn:aws:iam::YOUR_ACCOUNT_ID:role/YourRoleName --role-session-name testSession

   This can help you understand if the issue is within your application or with the IAM setup.

6. Review Network Policies and Security Groups:

   Ensure that there are no network policies or security groups blocking access to the AWS endpoints from your Kubernetes cluster.

If you follow these steps, you should be able to trace where the problem lies. Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

Hi there!

It’s great that you’re reaching out for help! Here are some steps to troubleshoot your issue with assuming a service account role from within a Docker container in a Kubernetes cluster:

1. Verify Service Account Configuration

• Ensure that your Kubernetes service account is correctly linked to the IAM role. Check the eks.amazonaws.com/role-arn annotation in your service account definition.
• Use kubectl describe serviceaccount to ensure it has the correct annotations.

2. Check IAM Role Trust Relationship

• Go to the IAM console and check if the trust relationship of the role you are trying to assume includes the correct service account’s OIDC provider.
• Make sure the trust policy allows your service account to assume the role.

3. Review Pod Role Permissions

• Ensure that your pod is using the correct service account by checking with kubectl get pod -o=jsonpath='{.spec.serviceAccountName}'.
• Inspect the role bindings associated with the service account.

4. Enable Debug Logging

• If you’re using AWS SDK or CLI, enable debug logging to get detailed output of the assume role process.
• Look for specific error messages that can guide you towards what is failing.

5. Inspect Environment Variables

• Check if the necessary environment variables are set correctly in your container (like AWS_REGION, AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID, and AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY if they’re required).

6. Permissions Boundary

• Check if there are any permissions boundaries associated with the role that might prevent your actions.

Once you’ve gone through these checks, you should have a clearer idea of where the issue lies. If you’re still facing challenges, consider sharing error messages or logs for deeper insights.

Good luck!