Traditional patch management is insufficient for mitigating rapidly evolving threats in dynamic Kubernetes environments, where zero-day vulnerabilities can be exploited before official patches are available. This session presents a technical exploration of virtual patching—deploying runtime security controls at the kernel level to intercept and neutralize exploits without modifying application code or requiring downtime. Leveraging open source solutions such as KubeArmor, which utilizes eBPF and Linux Security Modules (LSM) for inline mitigation, and Kyverno for declarative policy enforcement, this talk demonstrates the orchestration of layered security policies that provide defense-in-depth against advanced threats. Attendees will see how to implement granular process, file, and network access controls, automate vulnerability detection and response workflows, and integrate virtual patching into CI/CD pipelines for continuous protection. Real-world use cases will illustrate how these controls block exploitation vectors in real time, ensuring workload integrity while maintaining operational agility