> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mcp-server-langgraph.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# 66. Helm Chart Security Risk Acceptance

> Architecture Decision Record: 66. Helm Chart Security Risk Acceptance

# 66. Helm Chart Security Risk Acceptance

Date: 2025-11-29

## Status

Accepted

## Category

Security & Compliance

## Context

The MCP Server LangGraph Helm chart depends on upstream Helm subcharts from canonical providers. Security scanning with Trivy identifies findings in these upstream charts that represent either:

1. **False positives**: Static analysis limitations (e.g., variable references detected as secrets)
2. **Intentional design**: Required functionality (e.g., node-exporter host access)
3. **Upstream patterns**: Standard practices from trusted maintainers (e.g., Bitnami UID/GID)

### Subcharts and Providers

| Chart                     | Version | Provider                  | Status              |
| ------------------------- | ------- | ------------------------- | ------------------- |
| **openfga**               | 0.2.49  | openfga.github.io ✅       | Official OpenFGA    |
| **postgresql**            | 18.1.11 | charts.bitnami.com ✅      | Official Bitnami    |
| **redis**                 | 24.0.0  | charts.bitnami.com ✅      | Official Bitnami    |
| **keycloak**              | 25.2.0  | charts.bitnami.com ✅      | Official Bitnami    |
| **grafana**               | 12.1.8  | charts.bitnami.com ✅      | Official Bitnami    |
| **jaeger**                | 3.4.1   | jaegertracing.github.io ✅ | Official Jaeger     |
| **kube-prometheus-stack** | 79.9.0  | prometheus-community ✅    | Official Prometheus |

All charts use official/canonical providers with security-focused release processes.

### Bitnami Licensing Note

Beginning **August 28, 2025**, Bitnami will transition to "Bitnami Secure Images" model:

* Non-hardened Debian-based images deprecated in free tier
* Gradual removal of non-latest tags from public catalog
* Migration strategy required before August 2025

## Decision

Accept documented security findings in upstream Helm subcharts with the following risk mitigation strategy:

### 1. Severity-Based Triage

| Severity          | Action                                                           |
| ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **CRITICAL/HIGH** | Investigate and remediate or document with compensating controls |
| **MEDIUM**        | Evaluate impact, suppress with justification if false positive   |
| **LOW/NOTE**      | Suppress with documentation, review quarterly                    |

### 2. Accepted Findings Categories

#### A. kube-prometheus-stack RBAC (Required for Cluster Monitoring)

| Finding                          | Justification                              |
| -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| KSV041 (Manage secrets)          | Required for scrape configurations and TLS |
| KSV045 (Wildcard verbs)          | Required for CRD management                |
| KSV048/049 (Workload management) | Required for monitoring resources          |
| KSV056 (Network management)      | Required for ServiceMonitor/PodMonitor     |
| KSV113 (Namespace secrets)       | Required for multi-namespace monitoring    |
| KSV114 (Webhook admission)       | Required for CRD validation                |

**Compensating Controls**: NetworkPolicies restrict prometheus-operator access.

#### B. Node Exporter (Required for Node Metrics)

| Finding               | Justification                   |
| --------------------- | ------------------------------- |
| KSV009 (Host network) | Required for node-level metrics |
| KSV010 (Host PID)     | Required for process metrics    |
| KSV023/121 (hostPath) | Required for /proc, /sys access |

**Compensating Controls**: DaemonSet runs only on designated monitoring nodes.

#### C. Keycloak (Quarkus JIT Requirements)

| Finding                               | Justification                                 |
| ------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| AVD-KSV-0014 (readOnlyRootFilesystem) | Quarkus JIT compilation requires write access |

**Compensating Controls**: runAsNonRoot, allowPrivilegeEscalation=false, capabilities.drop=ALL.

#### D. False Positives

| Finding                           | Reason                                               |
| --------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- |
| AVD-KSV-0109 (ConfigMap secrets)  | Variable references (\$REDIS\_PASSWORD), not secrets |
| AVD-KSV-01010 (Sensitive content) | LLM token limits, not auth tokens                    |
| KSV013 (Latest tag)               | Development only; production pins versions           |
| KSV020/021 (UID/GID \< 10000)     | Bitnami standard (UID 1001), still non-root          |
| KSV0125 (Untrusted registry)      | Bitnami is trusted, widely used registry             |

### 3. Suppression Documentation

All accepted findings are documented in `deployments/helm/mcp-server-langgraph/.trivyignore` with:

* Affected component
* Justification
* Compensating controls
* Review expiration date

### 4. Review Schedule

| Activity                 | Frequency |
| ------------------------ | --------- |
| .trivyignore review      | Quarterly |
| Subchart version updates | Monthly   |
| Security advisory review | Weekly    |
| Full security audit      | Annually  |

## Consequences

### Positive

* Clear documentation of security posture
* Reduced noise in security scans
* Focused attention on genuine issues
* Transparent risk acceptance process

### Negative

* Maintenance burden for .trivyignore
* Risk of accepting genuine issues as false positives
* Quarterly review overhead

### Mitigations

* Automated CI checks flag new findings
* Expiration dates force periodic review
* Defense-in-depth with multiple security layers

## References

* [Trivy Kubernetes Security Checks](https://aquasecurity.github.io/trivy/v0.45/docs/scanner/misconfiguration/check/kubernetes/)
* [kube-prometheus-stack RBAC Requirements](https://prometheus-operator.dev/docs/operator/rbac/)
* [Bitnami Security Documentation](https://docs.bitnami.com/tutorials/understand-rolling-tags-containers/)
* ADR-0052: Keycloak Security Architecture
* `.trivyignore`: Full suppression documentation