Kubernetes

v1.36.0Kubernetes Core

Apr 23, 2026Copy link

Kubernetes v1.36 is a large release with multiple GA promotions, significant DRA expansions, new gang-scheduling APIs, and several metric renames that require immediate action before upgrading.

• breakingUpdate monitoring before upgrading: two metric renames

  The metrics `volume_operation_total_errors` and `etcd_bookmark_counts` have been renamed to `volume_operation_errors_total` and `etcd_bookmark_total` respectively. Any Prometheus alerts or Grafana dashboards using the old names will silently stop firing after upgrade. Audit your monitoring stack and update all references before rolling out v1.36 to production.

• breakingDRA RBAC changes required if using DRAResourceClaimGranularStatusAuthorization

  The `DRAResourceClaimGranularStatusAuthorization` feature gate is beta and on by default in v1.36. DRA schedulers and controllers now need explicit `update`/`patch` on `resourceclaims/binding`, and DRA drivers need `associated-node:update` or `arbitrary-node:update` on `resourceclaims/driver` scoped to their specific `resourceNames`. If you run DRA drivers, audit and update their RBAC manifests before upgrading, or pods will fail to schedule.

• breakingflex-volume and git-repo volume plugin removals

  kubeadm no longer mounts the flex-volume plugin directory automatically, and the git-repo volume plugin is permanently disabled. If any workloads still use git-repo volumes, they will stop working — there's no flag to re-enable it. Migrate to an init container pattern or a CSI driver. For flex-volumes in kubeadm environments, you must manually configure extraVolumes and a non-distroless KCM image before upgrading to v1.36.

• breakingStrictIPCIDRValidation on by default — check your IP/CIDR fields

  API fields now reject IPs with leading zeros (e.g., `010.0.0.1`) and CIDRs with host bits set (e.g., `192.168.1.5/24` instead of `192.168.1.0/24`). Existing objects are preserved via validation ratcheting, but new creates and updates will fail if they use these formats. Audit your manifests, Helm charts, and automation for non-canonical IP/CIDR values before upgrading.

• enhancementMutatingAdmissionPolicy is now GA — consider replacing webhook boilerplate

  MutatingAdmissionPolicy (CEL-based mutation) is now v1 and enabled by default. If you're running simple mutating webhooks that set defaults or inject labels/annotations, this is a good time to evaluate replacing them with MutatingAdmissionPolicy resources. CEL-based policies eliminate the need to maintain webhook servers, certificates, and availability concerns. Start with low-risk, stateless mutations.