How a k3s Install Silently Broke Container Networking via a Kernel Switch
Installing k3s on a memory-constrained host triggered the automatic loading of the br_netfilter kernel module, which flipped the net.bridge.bridge-nf-call-iptables sysctl from 0 to 1 host-wide. This change caused all containers on an existing Docker bridge network to lose connectivity with each other, as bridge-internal traffic was now being routed through iptables chains that hadn't previously evaluated it. The affected containers timed out rather than refusing connections, pointing to a network-layer fault rather than an application issue. Toggling the sysctl back to 0 immediately restored container communication, confirming the mechanism behind the failure. However, setting it to 0 is not a permanent fix, since k3s unconditionally re-enables the sysctl each time its systemd service starts.
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