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Breaking Changes Detection

Purpose​

Identify version-specific breaking changes that affect ACTUAL resources in the cluster. Only flag a breaking change if the cluster has resources that will be impacted.

Principle​

Every breaking change entry must be written in consultant-advisory style:

  • What we found in YOUR cluster and why it matters
  • Real-world impact if not addressed before upgrade
  • Concrete remediation with commands where applicable

Do NOT list generic Kubernetes release notes. Only report changes that affect resources actually present in the cluster.

Version-Specific Breaking Changes​

Target >= 1.25: PodSecurityPolicy Removed (historical note — not an active check)​

PodSecurityPolicy (PSP) was removed in Kubernetes 1.25. This skill's supported source-version floor is 1.30, so PSP is already gone on every assessable cluster — there is nothing left to scan for. This entry is retained as background context ONLY; it is NOT an active check and produces no finding or deduction.

  • Historical remediation (for reference only): workloads formerly governed by a PSP should use Pod Security Standards (PSS) — label namespaces with kubectl label namespace <ns> pod-security.kubernetes.io/enforce=restricted.
  • Scoring home: n/a — nothing to detect on any assessable (>= 1.30) cluster.

Target >= 1.29: FlowSchema API v1beta2 Removed​

Check: Scan cluster resources for apiVersion: flowcontrol.apiserver.k8s.io/v1beta2

  • Look at FlowSchema and PriorityLevelConfiguration resources
  • Apply the writer-identity filter in deprecated-apis.md Step 3b FIRST. An object is a real finding only if a user tool (kubectl/helm/argocd/flux) wrote v1beta2 in managedFields. Objects whose only v1beta2 trace comes from internal APF controllers (api-priority-and-fairness-config-*, eks-internal) are false positives and do NOT count. (AWS-managed field writers are tagged manager: eks; both fully- and partially-managed fields carry this manager string — see AWS EKS docs "Determine fields you can customize for Amazon EKS add-ons" (kubernetes-field-management.html). Internal control-plane writers such as eks-internal are likewise not user tools. Neither counts as a user-managed writer.)
  • If a real (user-managed) object is found → HIGH severity (removed API in use). Update to flowcontrol.apiserver.k8s.io/v1
  • Scoring home: this is a removed API — scored under Deprecated APIs (Category 2), NOT here. Do NOT also deduct for it under Breaking Changes — that would double-count.

Target >= 1.30: AppArmor Annotations Deprecated​

Check: Scan pod templates in deployments/daemonsets/statefulsets for container.apparmor.security.beta.kubernetes.io/* annotations

  • If found → MEDIUM severity. AppArmor itself is GA and fully supported — only the annotation mechanism is deprecated, superseded by the native securityContext.appArmorProfile field (GA in K8s 1.31; the field was added as beta in 1.30 — see the Kubernetes v1.31 release blog / KEP-24 "AppArmor support").
  • Remediation: Replace the annotations with the appArmorProfile field in securityContext (pod- or container-level). This annotation-to-field change is a mechanism swap, not a security-model change — for the deprecated annotation the field is the direct replacement, not seccomp. (Separately, AppArmor as a whole is deprecated in Kubernetes 1.34, where AWS recommends migrating to seccomp or Pod Security Standards — see the "Target >= 1.34: AppArmor Deprecated" section below.)

Target >= 1.32: FlowSchema API v1beta3 Removed​

Check: Scan for apiVersion: flowcontrol.apiserver.k8s.io/v1beta3

  • Apply the writer-identity filter in deprecated-apis.md Step 3b FIRST. An object is a real finding only if a user tool (kubectl/helm/argocd/flux) wrote v1beta3 in managedFields. Objects whose only v1beta3 trace comes from internal APF controllers (api-priority-and-fairness-config-*, eks-internal) are false positives and do NOT count. (AWS-managed field writers are tagged manager: eks; both fully- and partially-managed fields carry this manager string — see AWS EKS docs "Determine fields you can customize for Amazon EKS add-ons" (kubernetes-field-management.html). Internal control-plane writers such as eks-internal are likewise not user tools. Neither counts as a user-managed writer.)
  • If a real (user-managed, not-yet-migrated) v1beta3 object is found → HIGH severity. Update to flowcontrol.apiserver.k8s.io/v1.
  • Scoring home: this finding is scored under Deprecated APIs (Category 2), NOT here. Do NOT also deduct for it under Breaking Changes — that would double-count.

Target >= 1.32: Anonymous Auth Restricted​

Flag (MEDIUM severity) only when current <= 1.31 AND target >= 1.32 — i.e. the upgrade crosses INTO the anonymous-auth restriction. A cluster already on 1.32+ has the restriction in effect; do NOT flag it again.

  • Anonymous requests only allowed to /healthz, /livez, /readyz
  • Check: List ClusterRoleBindings via the Kubernetes API and identify any whose subjects[] include system:unauthenticated
  • Flag MEDIUM only if that listing shows a system:unauthenticated subject bound to something beyond the API-server health-endpoint defaults — access to /healthz, /livez, /readyz (via the default system:public-info-viewer binding) is the expected default and is NOT a finding. If the only bindings surfaced are those health-endpoint defaults, do NOT write the finding.
  • Impact: Monitoring tools or LB health checks hitting non-health endpoints will get 401
  • Scoring home: scored under Breaking Changes (Category 1, MEDIUM = 4 pts). Do NOT also count it under Behavioral Changes (Category 9) — it has exactly one home.

Target >= 1.33: Endpoints API Deprecated​

Check: List Endpoints resources, then apply the deprecated-apis.md Step 3b writer-identity filter — a finding counts ONLY if a user tool (kubectl-*, helm, argocd-application-controller, flux, etc.) wrote the Endpoints object in managedFields.

  • Do NOT flag by mere presence and do NOT simply "exclude the default kubernetes endpoint": the endpoints controller still auto-creates an Endpoints object for EVERY selector Service in 1.33+ (that behavior is unchanged), so a presence check false-positives on essentially every Service. The deprecation targets code/tooling that reads or writes the Endpoints API directly, which the writer test isolates.
  • If a user-tool-written Endpoints object exists → MEDIUM severity
  • Remediation: Migrate the tooling/consumers to the EndpointSlices API (discovery.k8s.io/v1)

Target >= 1.33: AL2 AMI Not Available​

Check: List nodes → inspect status.nodeInfo.kernelVersion for amzn2 or osImage for Amazon Linux 2

  • If AL2 nodes found → HIGH severity. Cannot create new AL2 node groups for 1.33+
  • Remediation: Migrate to AL2023 or Bottlerocket BEFORE upgrading control plane

Target >= 1.34: AppArmor Deprecated​

Check: Detect AppArmor use on workloads — either the legacy container.apparmor.security.beta.kubernetes.io/* annotations OR the securityContext.appArmorProfile field set to Localhost/RuntimeDefault.

  • If AppArmor is in use → MEDIUM severity. AppArmor (as a whole, not just the annotation form) is deprecated in Kubernetes 1.34. Source: AWS EKS "Review release notes for Kubernetes versions on standard support" — "AppArmor is deprecated in Kubernetes 1.34. We recommend migrating to alternative container security solutions like seccomp or Pod Security Standards" (https://docs.aws.amazon.com/eks/latest/userguide/kubernetes-versions-standard.html, as of 2026-08-05).
  • Clarifier: this "deprecated in 1.34" wording is AWS EKS guidance, NOT an upstream Kubernetes removal. Upstream, the securityContext.appArmorProfile field is GA since Kubernetes 1.31 and is NOT deprecated; only the legacy container.apparmor.security.beta.kubernetes.io/* annotation form is deprecated upstream. Treat the AWS note as EKS-recommended migration guidance, not as a signal that the field API is going away.
  • Remediation: Plan migration to seccomp profiles or Pod Security Standards per the AWS guidance above. (This SUPERSEDES the narrower annotation-only advice under "Target >= 1.30" — for a 1.34+ target, migrating off AppArmor entirely is the AWS recommendation, whereas below 1.34 the annotation-to-field swap is the only change.)

Target >= 1.34: Freshness / Coverage Gate​

This file enumerates specific 1.34 changes above, but the Kubernetes 1.34 and EKS 1.34 release notes may carry additional breaking changes not captured here. For any target

= 1.34, before reporting "no further breaking changes," perform the same live lookup described under "Target > 1.36: Live Lookup Required" below:

  1. A documentation search for "EKS Kubernetes breaking changes"
  2. A documentation search for "Kubernetes removed APIs"
  3. Fetch the K8s CHANGELOG for the target minor version
  4. A documentation search for "EKS release notes"

If live sources are unreachable: note "Breaking changes for could not be fully verified — AWS/K8s documentation unavailable; re-check before upgrading" rather than asserting the list is complete.

Target >= 1.35: Cgroup v1 Support Removed from Default Config (conditional; overridable)​

Conditional — flag (HIGH severity) ONLY if cgroup v1 nodes are detected. Applies to any target >= 1.35. Note this is not an absolute block: the kubelet failCgroupV1=false override keeps cgroup v1 nodes running. EKS-managed AL2023 and Bottlerocket nodes are cgroup v2 and unaffected (Bottlerocket additionally sets failCgroupV1=false). Fargate continues to use cgroup v1, but AWS manages the Fargate runtime, so there is no customer remediation for Fargate (source: AWS EKS Kubernetes 1.35 release notes, "Fargate continues to use cgroup v1").

  • kubelet refuses to start on cgroup v1 nodes unless failCgroupV1=false
  • AL2 uses cgroup v1 by default; AL2023 and Bottlerocket use cgroup v2
  • Check: inspect node OS images — AL2 nodes (osImage contains "Amazon Linux 2", not "2023") imply cgroup v1; AL2023/Bottlerocket nodes are cgroup v2. If NO cgroup v1 nodes are present, do NOT flag and do NOT deduct — record under Informational Findings only.
  • Detection caveat: this keys on the osImage "Amazon Linux 2" string as a conservative proxy for cgroup v1 — the actual cgroup version is not read from the node. An AL2 node pinned to cgroup v2 over-flags; a non-AL distro pinned to v1 is missed.

Target >= 1.35: Containerd 1.x Outside Tested Matrix (managed AMIs unaffected)​

Check: List nodes → inspect status.nodeInfo.containerRuntimeVersion

  • If any node shows containerd 1.x → MEDIUM severity (HIGH for self-managed / custom-AMI nodes at target >= 1.36 — see Node Readiness 5.3)
  • containerd 1.x is outside the tested matrix for 1.36, which is validated against containerd 2.x. EKS-managed AL2023 AMIs ship containerd 2.x, so they are unaffected.
  • Scoring home: containerd 1.x is scored under Node Readiness (Category 3), NOT here. It is HIGH severity for the self-managed/1.36 case but is NOT a hard blocker (no score cap). Do NOT also deduct for it under Breaking Changes — that would double-count.

Any target: Ingress NGINX Retired (calendar event, version-independent)​

Check: List deployments/daemonsets with ingress-nginx or nginx-ingress in name

  • This is NOT gated on the Kubernetes target version. The ingress-nginx project retired in March 2026 (Kubernetes Steering and Security Response Committees announcement) — a calendar event, not a version property. Flag ingress-nginx on ANY cluster regardless of current or target version, matching oss_addon_registry.json ("HIGH severity regardless of current version compatibility").
  • If found → HIGH severity. The project is retired: no more releases or security patches.
  • Remediation: Migrate to Gateway API (e.g. Envoy Gateway, AWS Gateway API Controller) or the AWS Load Balancer Controller.

Target == 1.35: IPVS Proxy Mode Deprecated​

Check: Read kube-proxy ConfigMap → check mode field

  • If mode: ipvs AND target is exactly 1.35 → MEDIUM severity. IPVS proxy mode is deprecated as of 1.35; removal is slated for a future release (it is NOT removed in 1.36).
  • Remediation: Plan a migration to iptables or nftables mode ahead of the eventual removal.

Target >= 1.35: --pod-infra-container-image Flag Removed​

Conditional — flag (LOW severity) ONLY if custom-AMI / self-managed nodes are detected (reuse the classification from node-readiness.md check 5.4). Applies to any target >= 1.35.

  • Affects custom AMIs with this kubelet flag in bootstrap scripts
  • EKS-managed AMIs are not affected — if the cluster has no self-managed/custom-AMI nodes, do NOT flag and do NOT deduct
  • Detection caveat: this detects the presence of self-managed/custom-AMI nodes, not whether the --pod-infra-container-image flag is actually set — the kubelet flag is not readable via the API. Presence is a conservative proxy.

Target >= 1.36: IPVS Proxy Mode Deprecated (removal in a future release)​

Check: Read kube-proxy ConfigMap → check mode field

  • If mode: ipvs → MEDIUM severity. IPVS proxy mode is deprecated (as of 1.35) and slated for removal in a future release; it is NOT removed in 1.36.
  • Remediation: Plan a migration to iptables or nftables mode ahead of the eventual removal.

Target >= 1.36: gitRepo Volume Removed​

Check: Scan pod templates (Deployments, DaemonSets, StatefulSets, Jobs, CronJobs, bare Pods) for spec.volumes[].gitRepo.

  • If found → HIGH severity. The gitRepo volume type is permanently disabled in 1.36. The API still accepts the spec, but the kubelet refuses to run the pod and returns an error — so the workload will fail to start on 1.36 nodes.
  • Remediation: Migrate to an initContainer that clones the repo, or a git-sync sidecar, before upgrading. See KEP-5040.

Target >= 1.36: Strict IP/CIDR Validation​

Check: Scan manifests/resources for IP or CIDR fields with non-canonical notation — leading zeros (e.g., 010.000.000.005) or ambiguous CIDR (e.g., 192.168.0.5/24 instead of 192.168.0.0/24). Common in Services, NetworkPolicies, and custom configs.

  • If found → MEDIUM severity. The StrictIPCIDRValidation feature gate is on by default for built-in API kinds in 1.36. Existing stored objects are preserved (validation ratcheting), but new creates/updates with non-canonical values are rejected. Does NOT apply to custom resource kinds.
  • Remediation: Update manifests, Helm charts, and automation to canonical IP/CIDR format before upgrading. See KEP-4858.

Target >= 1.37: SELinux Volume Labeling GA​

Check: Only relevant on SELinux-enforcing nodes. Look for pods sharing a single volume between privileged and unprivileged containers.

  • If SELinux is enforced AND shared volumes exist → MEDIUM severity. Faster SELinux volume labeling now defaults to all volumes (using mount -o context instead of recursive relabeling). Sharing a volume between privileged and unprivileged pods on the same node may break.
  • Remediation: Audit clusters and set the seLinuxChangePolicy field and SELinux volume labels correctly on affected pods before upgrading.

Target >= 1.36: Service externalIPs Deprecated​

Check: Scan Services for a non-empty spec.externalIPs field.

  • If found → LOW severity. externalIPs is deprecated in 1.36 (full removal planned for 1.43). Creating/updating such Services produces deprecation warnings but still works.
  • Remediation: Plan migration to LoadBalancer Services, NodePort, or Gateway API. See KEP-5707.

Target > 1.36: Live Lookup Required​

This file does not cover breaking changes for versions beyond 1.36. If the target version is > 1.36, you MUST perform a live lookup before reporting "no breaking changes found."

How to check:

  1. Search AWS docs: a documentation search for "EKS Kubernetes breaking changes"
  2. Search AWS docs: a documentation search for "Kubernetes removed APIs"
  3. Fetch the Kubernetes changelog: the K8s CHANGELOG for the target minor version (e.g., CHANGELOG-1.37.md)
  4. Check for EKS-specific changes: a documentation search for "EKS release notes"

If no breaking changes are found after live lookup: Report "No breaking changes identified for based on available documentation" with a note that the user should re-check closer to their upgrade date as documentation may be updated.

If live sources are unreachable: Report "Breaking changes for could not be verified — AWS documentation unavailable" with MEDIUM severity. Do NOT assume no breaking changes exist.

Score Impact​

Canonical scoring is defined in references/report-generation.md §Category 1 (Breaking Changes).

SeverityPer-item DeductionMax Category
HIGH10 pts25 pts total
MEDIUM4 pts
LOW2 pts