Kyverno review
A focused open-source policy engine for Kubernetes admission and runtime controls.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Kyverno is an open-source, self-hosted policy engine built around Kubernetes security, compliance, and governance. Platform engineers can write policies in YAML or CEL, then apply them through Kubernetes admission control, runtime policy evaluation, background scans, or the Kyverno CLI. It suits teams that want policy decisions close to cluster resources, especially when admission controls are central to their operating model.
Its strongest area is the breadth of Kubernetes policy actions. Kyverno can validate and mutate resources, generate new resources, clean up matching objects, and produce policy reports using the OpenReport format. It also supports policy exceptions, image digest mutation and enforcement, and verification of container image signatures and attestations. Installation uses Helm charts or YAML manifests, giving Kubernetes teams two familiar deployment paths without shifting the product away from its cluster-native focus.
Kyverno's open-source model makes it a fit for organizations that prefer self-hosted policy tooling rather than a paid, externally managed service. Its supply-chain controls are focused on image signatures, attestations, and digests, not on image vulnerability scanning, registry scanning, or SBOM generation. Teams seeking Kubernetes admission governance and policy automation should consider Kyverno; teams primarily looking for vulnerability management or SBOM workflows should choose a product centered on those capabilities instead.
Kyverno pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Validates, mutates, generates, and cleans up Kubernetes resources
- Verifies container image signatures and attestations
- Combines admission control, runtime scans, reports, and CLI scanning
- Where it doesn't
- Does not provide image vulnerability scanning
- Does not provide registry scanning
- Does not generate SBOMs for user workloads
Kyverno fact sheet, pricing and score →
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