privilegedescalation/headlamp-polaris-plugin

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Chris Farhood e2f220c418 docs: update Headlamp install namespace references from kube-system to headlamp

Updates all documentation references to the Headlamp install namespace
from kube-system to headlamp as part of PRI-433.

In-scope files updated:
- README.md, SECURITY.md
- docs/getting-started/installation.md, quick-start.md, prerequisites.md
- docs/deployment/helm.md, kubernetes.md, production.md
- docs/troubleshooting/README.md, common-issues.md, rbac-issues.md
- docs/user-guide/configuration.md, rbac-permissions.md
- docs/TESTING.md, TROUBLESHOOTING.md, DEPLOYMENT.md

Out-of-scope (unchanged):
- Source files referencing upstream workload namespace
- RBAC manifests describing Polaris namespace (polaris ns is unchanged)
- NetworkPolicy namespaceSelector (API server runs in kube-system)
- design-decisions.md and ARCHITECTURE.md (URL hashes refer to cluster namespaces, not Headlamp install ns)

Co-Authored-By: Paperclip <noreply@paperclip.ing>

2026-05-04 07:25:28 +00:00

2.4 KiB

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RBAC Issues

Troubleshooting RBAC permissions and 403 errors for the Headlamp Polaris Plugin.

Overview

The plugin requires get permission on services/proxy resource for the polaris-dashboard service in the polaris namespace. Without this permission, you'll see 403 Forbidden errors.

Common Scenarios

403 Forbidden Error

Symptom: Error loading Polaris data, "Access denied (403)" in UI

Cause: Missing or incorrect RBAC binding

Solution:

# 1. Verify RBAC resources exist
kubectl -n polaris get role polaris-proxy-reader
kubectl -n polaris get rolebinding headlamp-polaris-proxy

# If missing, apply RBAC:
kubectl apply -f - <<EOF
---
apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: Role
metadata:
  name: polaris-proxy-reader
  namespace: polaris
rules:
  - apiGroups: [""]
    resources: ["services/proxy"]
    resourceNames: ["polaris-dashboard"]
    verbs: ["get"]
---
apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: RoleBinding
metadata:
  name: headlamp-polaris-proxy
  namespace: polaris
subjects:
  - kind: ServiceAccount
    name: headlamp
    namespace: headlamp
roleRef:
  kind: Role
  name: polaris-proxy-reader
  apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io
EOF

Token-Auth Mode

Symptom: 403 error when using Headlamp with user-supplied tokens

Cause: User's own identity lacks the RoleBinding

Solution:

Bind the Role to authenticated users or specific users/groups:

---
apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: RoleBinding
metadata:
  name: users-polaris-proxy
  namespace: polaris
subjects:
  - kind: Group
    name: system:authenticated # All authenticated users
    apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io
roleRef:
  kind: Role
  name: polaris-proxy-reader
  apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io

Testing Permissions

# Test service account (in-cluster mode)
kubectl auth can-i get services/proxy \
  --as=system:serviceaccount:headlamp:headlamp \
  -n polaris \
  --resource-name=polaris-dashboard

# Test user (token-auth mode)
kubectl auth can-i get services/proxy \
  --as=user@example.com \
  -n polaris \
  --resource-name=polaris-dashboard

# Expected output: yes

For detailed RBAC configuration, see RBAC Permissions.

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