The hardest of the Kubernetes lab exams: cluster hardening, system hardening, supply chain security, runtime security with behavioural tooling, and minimising microservice vulnerabilities.
CNCF does not publish numeric exam codes — CKS is the common abbreviation.
Certified Kubernetes Security Specialist is CNCF's professional-level cybersecurity certification, referred to across the industry by the shorthand CKS. The exam runs for 2 hours, with a pass mark of 67%. It costs US$445 at the standard rate.
CNCF publishes the syllabus as 6 weighted domains. Minimize Microservice Vulnerabilities carries the most weight at 20%, and the three largest domains together account for roughly 60% of the scored content — worth knowing before you decide where study time goes.
Confirm these details on the official CNCF page before booking — vendors adjust format and pricing without notice.
Standard rate, before local taxes
The published exam guide for CKS, in the vendor's own order.
01Cluster Setup
15%02Cluster Hardening
15%03System Hardening
10%04Minimize Microservice Vulnerabilities
20%05Supply Chain Security
20%06Monitoring, Logging and Runtime Security
20%A current CKA certification is required to sit CKS.
Professional level — Advanced credentials covering design, scale and trade-off decisions.
CKS is assessed through work performed on live systems rather than a standard multiple-choice paper. Use the weighted domains above as a lab checklist and practise each task in a realistic environment.
The syllabus breakdown above is the most useful study plan available either way: work through the domains in weight order.
CKS is part of CNCF Kubestronaut, which requires 5 exams.
The exam is scheduled for 2 hours. CNCF does not publish a fixed question count for this exam.
67%. Confirm the current figure on the official exam page before booking, as vendors adjust cut scores when an exam form is refreshed.
The standard price is US$445. Local pricing, taxes and any retake policy vary by region, so check the official page for the figure that applies to you.
A current CKA certification is required to sit CKS.
The exam guide covers Cluster Setup, Cluster Hardening, System Hardening, Minimize Microservice Vulnerabilities and Supply Chain Security, plus 1 further domain. The full weighted breakdown is listed above.