# aquasecurity/kube-hunter

Hunt for security weaknesses in Kubernetes clusters

Repository: https://github.com/aquasecurity/kube-hunter
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/kube-hunter
Language: Python
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: vulnerabilities, kubernetes-clusters, hacktoberfest
Last push: 2024-03-19T12:30:55+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 23/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2968, "days_push": 897, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 5078, forks 611 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:09.521726+00:00)

## What it is
kube-hunter is a Python-based tool that hunts for security weaknesses and vulnerabilities in Kubernetes clusters, running remotely, on a machine, or inside a pod. It reports discoverable issues with vulnerability IDs mapped to a knowledge base and the Kubernetes ATT&CK matrix.

## Use cases
- scan my kubernetes cluster for security vulnerabilities
- find exposed kubelets and open ports on a k8s cluster
- audit kubernetes cluster misconfigurations
- run a security penetration test against a kubernetes cluster
- check if my kubernetes api server is publicly accessible
- map security weaknesses in a k8s environment before deployment

## When to choose
- you need a quick external or internal security assessment of a Kubernetes cluster
- you want vulnerability findings tied to documented knowledge base articles and the Kubernetes ATT&CK matrix
- you prefer a lightweight Python or container-based scanner you can run from a pod or laptop

## When to avoid
- you need actively maintained tooling - the project is no longer under development and maintainers recommend Trivy
- you want comprehensive misconfiguration and KBOM vulnerability scanning, which Trivy now covers
- you need continuous compliance or CIS benchmark scanning rather than point-in-time hunting

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: abandoned
- function: security, vulnerability-scanning, penetration-testing, cli
- domain: security
- platform: python, cli, cross-platform
- tags: kubernetes, k8s, security-audit, penetration-testing, vulnerability-scanner, aquasecurity, containers, devops, docker

## Member repositories
- aquasecurity/kube-hunter (main) score 23

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:09.521726+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:02:36.121215+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/aquasecurity/kube-hunter (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:09.521726+00:00, sha c712e129fd99)
  - registry_pypi: https://pypi.org/pypi/kube-hunter/json (fetched 2026-08-29T08:57:27.431610+00:00, sha 9e062341b9bc)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.