Kubernetes

The Infisical Kubernetes dynamic secret allows you to generate short-lived service account tokens on demand.

Overview

The Kubernetes dynamic secret feature enables you to generate short-lived service account tokens for your Kubernetes clusters. This is particularly useful for:

Secure Access Management: Instead of using long-lived service account tokens, you can generate short-lived tokens that automatically expire, reducing the risk of token exposure.
Temporary Access: Generate tokens with specific TTLs (Time To Live) for temporary access to your Kubernetes clusters.
Audit Trail: Each token generation is tracked, providing better visibility into who accessed your cluster and when.
Integration with Private Clusters: Seamlessly work with private Kubernetes clusters using Infisical’s Gateway feature.

Kubernetes service account tokens cannot be revoked once issued. This is why it’s important to use short TTLs and carefully manage token generation. The tokens will automatically expire after their TTL period.

Kubernetes service account tokens are JWTs (JSON Web Tokens) with a fixed expiration time. Once a token is generated, its lifetime cannot be extended. If you need longer access, you’ll need to generate a new token.

This feature is ideal for scenarios where you need to:

Provide temporary access to developers or CI/CD pipelines
Rotate service account tokens frequently
Maintain a secure audit trail of cluster access
Manage access to multiple Kubernetes clusters

Set up Dynamic Secrets with Kubernetes

Open Secret Overview Dashboard

Open the Secret Overview dashboard and select the environment in which you would like to add a dynamic secret.

Click on the 'Add Dynamic Secret' button

Select Kubernetes

Choose your configuration options

Before proceeding with the setup, you’ll need to make two key decisions:

Credential Type: How you want to manage service accounts
- Static: Use an existing service account with predefined permissions
- Dynamic: Create temporary service accounts with specific role assignments
Authentication Method: How you want to authenticate with the cluster
- Token (API): Use a service account token for direct API access
- Gateway: Use an Infisical Gateway deployed in your cluster

Static credentials generate service account tokens for a predefined service account. This is useful when you want to:

Generate tokens for an existing service account
Maintain consistent permissions across token generations
Use a service account that already has the necessary RBAC permissions

Prerequisites

A Kubernetes cluster with a service account
Cluster access token with permissions to create service account tokens
(Optional) Gateway for private cluster access

Authentication Setup

Choose your authentication method:

Token (API) Authentication

This method uses a service account token to authenticate with the Kubernetes cluster. It’s suitable when:

You want to use a specific service account token that you’ve created
You’re working with a public cluster or have network access to the cluster’s API server
You want to explicitly control which service account is used for operations

With Token (API) authentication, Infisical uses the provided service account token to make API calls to your Kubernetes cluster. This token must have the necessary permissions to generate tokens for the target service account.

Create a service account:

infisical-service-account.yaml

apiVersion: v1
kind: ServiceAccount
metadata:
  name: infisical-token-requester
  namespace: default

kubectl apply -f infisical-service-account.yaml

Set up RBAC permissions:

rbac.yaml

apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: ClusterRole
metadata:
  name: tokenrequest
rules:
  - apiGroups: [""]
    resources:
      - "serviceaccounts/token"
      - "serviceaccounts"
    verbs:
      - "create"
      - "get"
---
apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: ClusterRoleBinding
metadata:
  name: tokenrequest
roleRef:
  apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io
  kind: ClusterRole
  name: tokenrequest
subjects:
  - kind: ServiceAccount
    name: infisical-token-requester
    namespace: default

kubectl apply -f rbac.yaml

Create and obtain the token:

service-account-token.yaml

apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
type: kubernetes.io/service-account-token
metadata:
  name: infisical-token-requester-token
  annotations:
    kubernetes.io/service-account.name: "infisical-token-requester"

kubectl apply -f service-account-token.yaml
kubectl patch serviceaccount infisical-token-requester -p '{"secrets": [{"name": "infisical-token-requester-token"}]}' -n default
kubectl get secret infisical-token-requester-token -n default -o=jsonpath='{.data.token}' | base64 --decode

Gateway Authentication

This method uses an Infisical Gateway deployed in your Kubernetes cluster. It’s ideal when:

You want to avoid storing static service account tokens
You prefer to use the Gateway’s pre-configured service account
You want centralized management of cluster operations

With Gateway authentication, Infisical communicates with the Gateway, which then uses its own service account to make API calls to the Kubernetes API server. The Gateway’s service account must have the necessary permissions to generate tokens for the target service account.

When using Gateway authentication, the Gateway will access the Kubernetes API server using its internal cluster URL (typically https://kubernetes.default.svc) and TLS configuration. You don’t need to specify these values separately in the dynamic secret configuration.

Deploy the Infisical Gateway in your cluster
Set up RBAC permissions for the Gateway’s service account:

rbac.yaml

apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: ClusterRole
metadata:
  name: tokenrequest
rules:
  - apiGroups: [""]
    resources:
      - "serviceaccounts/token"
      - "serviceaccounts"
    verbs:
      - "create"
      - "get"
---
apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: ClusterRoleBinding
metadata:
  name: tokenrequest
roleRef:
  apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io
  kind: ClusterRole
  name: tokenrequest
subjects:
  - kind: ServiceAccount
    name: infisical-gateway
    namespace: infisical

kubectl apply -f rbac.yaml

Provide the inputs for dynamic secret parameters

Secret Name

string

required

Name by which you want the secret to be referenced

Default TTL

string

required

Default time-to-live for a generated secret (it is possible to modify this value after a secret is generated)

Max TTL

string

required

Maximum time-to-live for a generated secret

Gateway

string

Select a gateway for private cluster access. If not specified, the Internet Gateway will be used.

Cluster URL

string

required

Kubernetes API server URL (e.g., https://kubernetes.default.svc). Not required when using Gateway authentication as the Gateway will use its internal cluster URL.

Enable SSL

boolean

Whether to enable SSL verification for the Kubernetes API server connection. Not required when using Gateway authentication as the Gateway will use its internal TLS configuration.

string

Custom CA certificate for the Kubernetes API server. Leave blank to use the system/public CA. Not required when using Gateway authentication as the Gateway will use its internal TLS configuration.

Auth Method

string

required

Choose between Token (API) or Gateway authentication. If using Gateway, the Gateway must be deployed in your Kubernetes cluster.

Cluster Token

string

required

Token with permissions to create service accounts and manage RBAC (required when using Token authentication)

Credential Type

string

required

Choose between Static (predefined service account) or Dynamic (temporary service accounts with role assignments)

Service Account Name

string

required

Name of the service account to generate tokens for

Namespace

string

required

Kubernetes namespace where the service account exists

Audiences

array

Optional list of audiences to include in the generated token

Click 'Submit'

After submitting the form, you will see a dynamic secret created in the dashboard.

Generate and Manage Tokens

Once you’ve successfully configured the dynamic secret, you’re ready to generate on-demand service account tokens. To do this, simply click on the ‘Generate’ button which appears when hovering over the dynamic secret item. Alternatively, you can initiate the creation of a new lease by selecting ‘New Lease’ from the dynamic secret lease list section.

When generating these secrets, it’s important to specify a Time-to-Live (TTL) duration. This will dictate how long the credentials are valid for. Provision Lease

Ensure that the TTL for the lease falls within the maximum TTL defined when configuring the dynamic secret.

Once you click the Submit button, a new secret lease will be generated and the service account token will be shown to you. Provision Lease

Audit or Revoke Leases

Once you have created one or more leases, you will be able to access them by clicking on the respective dynamic secret item on the dashboard. This will allow you to see the lease details and delete the lease ahead of its expiration time.

While you can delete the lease from Infisical, the actual Kubernetes service account token cannot be revoked. The token will remain valid until its TTL expires. This is why it’s crucial to use appropriate TTL values when generating tokens.

Secrets Management

Product Reference

Infrastructure Integrations

Secret Syncs

Native Integrations

CI/CD Integrations

Framework Integrations

Build Tool Integrations

Others

Overview

Set up Dynamic Secrets with Kubernetes

Prerequisites

Authentication Setup

Generate and Manage Tokens

Audit or Revoke Leases

Secrets Management

Product Reference

Infrastructure Integrations

Secret Syncs

Native Integrations

CI/CD Integrations

Framework Integrations

Build Tool Integrations

Others

​Overview

​Set up Dynamic Secrets with Kubernetes

​Prerequisites

​Authentication Setup

​Generate and Manage Tokens

​Audit or Revoke Leases

Overview

Set up Dynamic Secrets with Kubernetes

Prerequisites

Authentication Setup

Generate and Manage Tokens

Audit or Revoke Leases