diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yaml b/.github/workflows/ci.yaml
index 7479e67777..35317c528f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yaml
@@ -124,6 +124,14 @@ jobs:
       pr-number: ${{ inputs.pr-number }}
       target-branch: ${{ inputs.target-branch }}
 
+  run-kata-monitor-tests:
+    needs: build-kata-static-tarball-amd64
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/run-kata-monitor-tests.yaml
+    with:
+      tarball-suffix: -${{ inputs.tag }}
+      commit-hash: ${{ inputs.commit-hash }}
+      target-branch: ${{ inputs.target-branch }}
+
   run-k8s-tests-on-aks:
     needs: publish-kata-deploy-payload-amd64
     uses: ./.github/workflows/run-k8s-tests-on-aks.yaml
diff --git a/.github/workflows/run-kata-monitor-tests.yaml b/.github/workflows/run-kata-monitor-tests.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..98e2a2276e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/run-kata-monitor-tests.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+name: CI | Run kata-monitor tests
+on:
+  workflow_call:
+    inputs:
+      tarball-suffix:
+        required: false
+        type: string
+      commit-hash:
+        required: false
+        type: string
+      target-branch:
+        required: false
+        type: string
+        default: ""
+
+jobs:
+  run-monitor:
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        vmm:
+          - qemu
+        container_engine:
+          - crio
+          - containerd
+        include:
+          - container_engine: containerd
+            containerd_version: lts
+    runs-on: garm-ubuntu-2204-smaller
+    env:
+      CONTAINER_ENGINE: ${{ matrix.container_engine }}
+      CONTAINERD_VERSION: ${{ matrix.containerd_version }}
+      KATA_HYPERVISOR: ${{ matrix.vmm }}
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          ref: ${{ inputs.commit-hash }}
+          fetch-depth: 0
+
+      - name: Rebase atop of the latest target branch
+        run: |
+          ./tests/git-helper.sh "rebase-atop-of-the-latest-target-branch"
+        env:
+          TARGET_BRANCH: ${{ inputs.target-branch }}
+
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: bash tests/functional/kata-monitor/gha-run.sh install-dependencies
+
+      - name: get-kata-tarball
+        uses: actions/download-artifact@v3
+        with:
+          name: kata-static-tarball-amd64${{ inputs.tarball-suffix }}
+          path: kata-artifacts
+
+      - name: Install kata
+        run: bash tests/functional/kata-monitor/gha-run.sh install-kata kata-artifacts
+
+      - name: Run kata-monitor tests
+        run: bash tests/functional/kata-monitor/gha-run.sh run
diff --git a/tests/common.bash b/tests/common.bash
index c6fbf71a78..a111445749 100644
--- a/tests/common.bash
+++ b/tests/common.bash
@@ -257,25 +257,71 @@ function restart_containerd_service() {
 	return 0
 }
 
+function restart_crio_service() {
+	sudo systemctl restart crio
+}
+
 # Configures containerd
 function overwrite_containerd_config() {
 	containerd_config="/etc/containerd/config.toml"
 	sudo rm -f "${containerd_config}"
 	sudo tee "${containerd_config}" << EOF
 version = 2
-[plugins."io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri".containerd.runtimes.runc.options]
-  SystemdCgroup = true
 
 [plugins]
   [plugins."io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri"]
     [plugins."io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri".containerd]
-      default_runtime_name = "kata"
       [plugins."io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri".containerd.runtimes]
+        [plugins."io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri".containerd.runtimes.runc]
+          base_runtime_spec = ""
+          cni_conf_dir = ""
+          cni_max_conf_num = 0
+          container_annotations = []
+          pod_annotations = []
+          privileged_without_host_devices = false
+          runtime_engine = ""
+          runtime_path = ""
+          runtime_root = ""
+          runtime_type = "io.containerd.runc.v2"
+          [plugins."io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri".containerd.runtimes.runc.options]
+            BinaryName = ""
+            CriuImagePath = ""
+            CriuPath = ""
+            CriuWorkPath = ""
+            IoGid = 0
+            IoUid = 0
+            NoNewKeyring = false
+            NoPivotRoot = false
+            Root = ""
+            ShimCgroup = ""
+            SystemdCgroup = false
         [plugins."io.containerd.grpc.v1.cri".containerd.runtimes.kata]
           runtime_type = "io.containerd.kata.v2"
 EOF
 }
 
+# Configures CRI-O
+function overwrite_crio_config() {
+	crio_conf_d="/etc/crio/crio.conf.d"
+	sudo mkdir -p ${crio_conf_d}
+
+	kata_config="${crio_conf_d}/99-kata-containers"
+	sudo tee "${kata_config}" << EOF
+[crio.runtime.runtimes.kata]
+runtime_path = "/usr/local/bin/containerd-shim-kata-v2"
+runtime_type = "vm"
+runtime_root = "/run/vc"
+runtime_config_path = "/opt/kata/share/defaults/kata-containers/configuration.toml"
+privileged_without_host_devices = true
+EOF
+
+	debug_config="${crio_conf_d}/100-debug"
+	sudo tee "${debug_config}" << EOF
+[crio]
+log_level = "debug"
+EOF
+}
+
 function install_kata() {
 	local kata_tarball="kata-static.tar.xz"
 	declare -r katadir="/opt/kata"
@@ -294,8 +340,14 @@ function install_kata() {
 		sudo ln -sf "${b}" "${local_bin_dir}/$(basename $b)"
 	done
 
-	check_containerd_config_for_kata
-	restart_containerd_service
+	if [ "${CONTAINER_ENGINE:=containerd}" = "containerd" ]; then
+		check_containerd_config_for_kata
+		restart_containerd_service
+	else
+		overwrite_crio_config
+		restart_crio_service
+	fi
+
 }
 
 # creates a new kata configuration.toml hard link that
@@ -383,6 +435,19 @@ function download_github_project_tarball() {
 	wget https://github.com/${project}/releases/download/${version}/${tarball_name}
 }
 
+# version: The version to be intalled
+function install_cni_plugins() {
+	version="${1}"
+
+	project="containernetworking/plugins"
+	tarball_name="cni-plugins-linux-$(${repo_root_dir}/tests/kata-arch.sh -g)-${version}.tgz"
+
+	download_github_project_tarball "${project}" "${version}" "${tarball_name}"
+	sudo mkdir -p /opt/cni/bin
+	sudo tar -xvf "${tarball_name}" -C /opt/cni/bin
+	rm -f "${tarball_name}"
+}
+
 # base_version: The version to be intalled in the ${major}.${minor} format
 function install_cri_containerd() {
 	base_version="${1}"
@@ -436,6 +501,52 @@ function install_nydus_snapshotter() {
 	rm -f "${tarball_name}"
 }
 
+function _get_os_for_crio() {
+	source /etc/os-release
+
+	if [ "${NAME}" != "Ubuntu" ]; then
+		echo "Only Ubuntu is supported for now"
+		exit 2
+	fi
+
+	echo "x${NAME}_${VERSION_ID}"
+}
+
+# version: the CRI-O version to be installe
+function install_crio() {
+	local version=${1}
+
+	os=$(_get_os_for_crio)
+
+	echo "deb https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:/kubic:/libcontainers:/stable/${os}/ /"|sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/devel:kubic:libcontainers:stable.list
+	echo "deb http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:/kubic:/libcontainers:/stable:/cri-o:/${version}/${os}/ /"|sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/devel:kubic:libcontainers:stable:cri-o:${version}.list
+	curl -L https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:kubic:libcontainers:stable:cri-o:${version}/${os}/Release.key | sudo apt-key add -
+	curl -L https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:/kubic:/libcontainers:/stable/${os}/Release.key | sudo apt-key add -
+	sudo apt update
+	sudo apt install -y cri-o cri-o-runc
+
+	# We need to set the default capabilities to ensure our tests will pass
+	# See: https://github.com/kata-containers/kata-containers/issues/8034
+	sudo mkdir -p /etc/crio/crio.conf.d/
+	cat <<EOF | sudo tee /etc/crio/crio.conf.d/00-default-capabilities
+[crio.runtime]
+default_capabilities = [
+       "CHOWN",
+       "DAC_OVERRIDE",
+       "FSETID",
+       "FOWNER",
+       "SETGID",
+       "SETUID",
+       "SETPCAP",
+       "NET_BIND_SERVICE",
+       "KILL",
+       "SYS_CHROOT",
+]
+EOF
+
+	sudo systemctl enable --now crio
+}
+
 # Convert architecture to the name used by golang
 function arch_to_golang() {
 	local arch="$(uname -m)"
diff --git a/tests/functional/kata-monitor/gha-run.sh b/tests/functional/kata-monitor/gha-run.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..93ac3f87db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/functional/kata-monitor/gha-run.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+#
+# Copyright (c) 2023 Intel Corporation
+#
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+#
+
+set -o errexit
+set -o nounset
+set -o pipefail
+
+kata_tarball_dir="${2:-kata-artifacts}"
+kata_monitor_dir="$(dirname "$(readlink -f "$0")")" 
+source "${kata_monitor_dir}/../../common.bash"
+
+function install_dependencies() {
+	info "Installing the dependencies needed for running the cri-containerd tests"
+
+	# Dependency list of projects that we can rely on the system packages
+	# - build-essential
+	#   - Theoretically we only need `make`, but doesn't hurt to install
+	#     the whole build-essential group
+	# - jq
+	declare -a system_deps=(
+		build-essential
+		jq
+	)
+
+	sudo apt-get update
+	sudo apt-get -y install "${system_deps[@]}"
+
+	ensure_yq
+
+	# Dependency list of projects that we can install them
+	# directly from their releases on GitHub:
+	# - cri-tools
+	# - containerd
+	#   - cri-container-cni release tarball already includes CNI plugins
+	cri_tools_version=$(get_from_kata_deps "externals.critools.latest")
+	declare -a github_deps
+	github_deps[0]="cri_tools:${cri_tools_version}"
+	case "${CONTAINER_ENGINE}" in
+		containerd)
+			github_deps[1]="cri_containerd:$(get_from_kata_deps "externals.containerd.${CONTAINERD_VERSION}")"
+			;;
+		crio)
+			github_deps[1]="cni_plugins:$(get_from_kata_deps "externals.cni-plugins.version")"
+			;;
+	esac
+
+	for github_dep in "${github_deps[@]}"; do
+		IFS=":" read -r -a dep <<< "${github_dep}"
+		install_${dep[0]} "${dep[1]}"
+	done
+
+	if [ "${CONTAINER_ENGINE}" = "crio" ]; then
+		install_crio ${cri_tools_version#v}
+	fi
+}
+
+function run() {
+	info "Running cri-containerd tests using ${KATA_HYPERVISOR} hypervisor"
+
+	enabling_hypervisor
+	bash -c ${kata_monitor_dir}/kata-monitor-tests.sh
+}
+
+function main() {
+	action="${1:-}"
+	case "${action}" in
+		install-dependencies) install_dependencies ;;
+		install-kata) install_kata ;;
+		run) run ;;
+		*) >&2 die "Invalid argument" ;;
+	esac
+}
+
+main "$@"
diff --git a/tests/functional/kata-monitor/kata-monitor-tests.sh b/tests/functional/kata-monitor/kata-monitor-tests.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..fe95cb867d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/functional/kata-monitor/kata-monitor-tests.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,294 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+#
+# Copyright (c) 2022 Red Hat
+#
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+#
+# This test file will test kata-monitor for basic functionality (retrieve kata sandboxes)
+# It will assume an environment where:
+# - a CRI container manager (container engine) will be up and running
+# - crictl is installed and configured
+# - the kata-monitor binary is available on the host
+#
+
+set -o errexit
+set -o nounset
+set -o pipefail
+
+source "/etc/os-release" || source "/usr/lib/os-release"
+
+[ -n "${BASH_VERSION:-}" ] && set -o errtrace
+[ -n "${DEBUG:-}" ] && set -o xtrace
+
+readonly MONITOR_HTTP_ENDPOINT="127.0.0.1:8090"
+# we should collect few hundred metrics, let's put a reasonable minimum
+readonly MONITOR_MIN_METRICS_NUM=200
+CONTAINER_ENGINE=${CONTAINER_ENGINE:-"containerd"}
+CRICTL_RUNTIME=${CRICTL_RUNTIME:-"kata"}
+KATA_MONITOR_BIN="${KATA_MONITOR_BIN:-$(command -v kata-monitor || true)}"
+KATA_MONITOR_PID=""
+TMPATH=$(mktemp -d -t kata-monitor-test-XXXXXXXXX)
+METRICS_FILE="${TMPATH}/metrics.txt"
+MONITOR_LOG_FILE="${TMPATH}/kata-monitor.log"
+CACHE_UPD_TIMEOUT_SEC=${CACHE_UPD_TIMEOUT_SEC:-20}
+POD_ID=""
+CID=""
+RUNC_POD_ID=""
+RUNC_CID=""
+CURRENT_TASK=""
+
+FALSE=1
+TRUE=0
+
+trap error_with_msg ERR
+
+title() {
+	local step="$1"
+	echo -e "\n* STEP: $step"
+}
+
+echo_ok() {
+	local msg="$1"
+
+	echo "OK: $msg"
+}
+
+# quiet crictrl
+qcrictl() {
+	sudo crictl "$@" > /dev/null
+}
+
+# this is just an hash of current date (+ nanoseconds)
+gen_unique_id() {
+	date +%T:%N | md5sum | cut -d ' ' -f 1
+}
+
+error_with_msg() {
+	local msg=${1:-"cannot $CURRENT_TASK"}
+
+	trap - ERR
+	echo -e "\nERROR: $msg"
+	if [ -f "$MONITOR_LOG_FILE" ]; then
+		echo -e "\nkata-monitor logs:\n----------------"
+		cat "$MONITOR_LOG_FILE"
+	fi
+	echo -e "\nkata-monitor testing: FAILED!"
+	cleanup
+	exit 1
+}
+
+cleanup() {
+	stop_workload
+	stop_workload "$RUNC_CID" "$RUNC_POD_ID"
+
+	[ -n "$KATA_MONITOR_PID" ] \
+		&& [ -d "/proc/$KATA_MONITOR_PID" ] \
+		&& kill -9 "$KATA_MONITOR_PID"
+
+	rm -rf "$TMPATH"
+}
+
+create_sandbox_json() {
+	local uid_name_suffix="$(gen_unique_id)"
+	local sbfile="$TMPATH/sandbox-$uid_name_suffix.json"
+
+	cat <<EOF >$sbfile
+{
+	"metadata": {
+		"name": "nginx-$uid_name_suffix",
+		"namespace": "default",
+		"uid": "nginx-container-uid",
+		"attempt": 1
+	},
+	"logDirectory": "/tmp",
+	"linux": {
+	}
+}
+EOF
+	echo "$sbfile"
+}
+
+create_container_json() {
+	local uid_name_suffix="$(gen_unique_id)"
+	local cntfile="$TMPATH/container-$uid_name_suffix.json"
+
+	cat <<EOF >$cntfile
+{
+	"metadata": {
+		"name": "busybox",
+		"namespace": "default",
+		"uid": "busybox-container-uid"
+	},
+	"image":{
+		"image": "busybox"
+	},
+	"command": [
+		"top"
+	],
+	"log_path":"busybox.log",
+	"linux": {
+	}
+}
+EOF
+	echo "$cntfile"
+}
+
+start_workload() {
+	local runtime=${1:-}
+	local args=""
+	local sbfile=""
+	local cntfile=""
+
+	[ -n "$runtime" ] && args="-r $runtime"
+
+	sbfile="$(create_sandbox_json)"
+	cntfile="$(create_container_json)"
+
+	POD_ID=$(sudo crictl runp $args $sbfile)
+	CID=$(sudo crictl create $POD_ID $cntfile $sbfile)
+	qcrictl start $CID
+}
+
+stop_workload() {
+	local cid="${1:-$CID}"
+	local pod_id="${2:-$POD_ID}"
+	local check
+
+	[ -z "$pod_id" ] && return
+	check=$(sudo crictl pods -q -id $pod_id)
+	[ -z "$check" ] && return
+
+	qcrictl stop $cid
+	qcrictl rm $cid
+
+	qcrictl stopp $pod_id
+	qcrictl rmp $pod_id
+}
+
+is_sandbox_there() {
+	local podid=${1}
+	local sbs s
+
+	sbs=$(sudo curl -s ${MONITOR_HTTP_ENDPOINT}/sandboxes)
+	if [ -n "$sbs" ]; then
+		for s in $sbs; do
+			if [ "$s" = "$podid" ]; then
+				return $TRUE
+				break
+			fi
+		done
+	fi
+	return $FALSE
+}
+
+is_sandbox_there_iterate() {
+	local podid=${1}
+
+	for i in $(seq 1 $CACHE_UPD_TIMEOUT_SEC); do
+		is_sandbox_there "$podid" && return $TRUE
+		echo -n "."
+		sleep 1
+		continue
+	done
+
+	return $FALSE
+}
+
+is_sandbox_missing_iterate() {
+	local podid=${1}
+
+	for i in $(seq 1 $CACHE_UPD_TIMEOUT_SEC); do
+		is_sandbox_there "$podid" || return $TRUE
+		echo -n "."
+		sleep 1
+		continue
+	done
+
+	return $FALSE
+}
+
+main() {
+	local args=""
+
+	###########################
+	title "pre-checks"
+
+	CURRENT_TASK="connect to the container engine"
+	qcrictl pods
+	echo_ok "$CURRENT_TASK"
+
+	###########################
+	title "pull the image to be used"
+	sudo crictl pull busybox
+
+	###########################
+	title "create workloads"
+
+	CURRENT_TASK="start workload (runc)"
+	start_workload
+	RUNC_POD_ID="$POD_ID"
+	RUNC_CID="$CID"
+	echo_ok "$CURRENT_TASK - POD ID:$POD_ID, CID:$CID"
+
+	CURRENT_TASK="start workload ($CRICTL_RUNTIME)"
+	start_workload "$CRICTL_RUNTIME"
+	echo_ok "$CURRENT_TASK - POD ID:$POD_ID, CID:$CID"
+
+	###########################
+	title "start kata-monitor"
+
+	[ ! -x "$KATA_MONITOR_BIN" ] && error_with_msg "kata-monitor binary not found"
+
+	[ "$CONTAINER_ENGINE" = "crio" ] && args="--runtime-endpoint /run/crio/crio.sock"
+
+	CURRENT_TASK="start kata-monitor"
+	sudo $KATA_MONITOR_BIN $args --log-level trace > "$MONITOR_LOG_FILE" 2>&1 &
+	KATA_MONITOR_PID="$!"
+	echo_ok "$CURRENT_TASK ($KATA_MONITOR_PID)"
+
+	###########################
+	title "kata-monitor cache update checks"
+
+	CURRENT_TASK="retrieve $POD_ID in kata-monitor cache"
+	is_sandbox_there_iterate "$POD_ID" || error_with_msg
+	echo_ok "$CURRENT_TASK"
+
+	CURRENT_TASK="look for runc pod $RUNC_POD_ID in kata-monitor cache"
+	is_sandbox_there_iterate "$RUNC_POD_ID" && error_with_msg "cache: got runc pod $RUNC_POD_ID"
+	echo_ok "runc pod $RUNC_POD_ID skipped from kata-monitor cache"
+
+	###########################
+	title "kata-monitor metrics retrieval"
+
+	CURRENT_TASK="retrieve metrics from kata-monitor"
+	curl -s ${MONITOR_HTTP_ENDPOINT}/metrics > "$METRICS_FILE"
+	echo_ok "$CURRENT_TASK"
+
+	CURRENT_TASK="retrieve metrics for pod $POD_ID"
+	METRICS_COUNT=$(grep -c "$POD_ID" "$METRICS_FILE")
+	[ ${METRICS_COUNT} -lt ${MONITOR_MIN_METRICS_NUM} ] \
+		&& error_with_msg "got too few metrics (#${METRICS_COUNT})"
+	echo_ok "$CURRENT_TASK - found #${METRICS_COUNT} metrics"
+
+	###########################
+	title "remove kata workload"
+
+	CURRENT_TASK="stop workload ($CRICTL_RUNTIME)"
+	stop_workload
+	echo_ok "$CURRENT_TASK"
+
+	###########################
+	title "kata-monitor cache update checks (removal)"
+
+	CURRENT_TASK="verify removal of $POD_ID from kata-monitor cache"
+	is_sandbox_missing_iterate "$POD_ID" || error_with_msg "pod $POD_ID was not removed"
+	echo_ok "$CURRENT_TASK"
+
+	###########################
+	CURRENT_TASK="cleanup"
+	cleanup
+
+	echo -e "\nkata-monitor testing: PASSED!\n"
+}
+
+main "@"
diff --git a/tests/gha-run-k8s-common.sh b/tests/gha-run-k8s-common.sh
index 9c1d9f9be5..2db44cfee6 100644
--- a/tests/gha-run-k8s-common.sh
+++ b/tests/gha-run-k8s-common.sh
@@ -197,17 +197,6 @@ function _get_k0s_kubernetes_version_for_crio() {
 	echo ${crio_version}
 }
 
-function _get_os_for_crio() {
-	source /etc/os-release
-
-	if [ "${NAME}" != "Ubuntu" ]; then
-		echo "Only Ubuntu is supported for now"
-		exit 2
-	fi
-
-	echo "x${NAME}_${VERSION_ID}"
-}
-
 function setup_crio() {
 	# Get the CRI-O version to be installed depending on the version of the
 	# "k8s distro" that we are using
@@ -217,35 +206,7 @@ function setup_crio() {
 
 	esac
 
-	os=$(_get_os_for_crio)
-
-	echo "deb https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:/kubic:/libcontainers:/stable/${os}/ /"|sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/devel:kubic:libcontainers:stable.list
-	echo "deb http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:/kubic:/libcontainers:/stable:/cri-o:/${crio_version}/${os}/ /"|sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/devel:kubic:libcontainers:stable:cri-o:${crio_version}.list
-	curl -L https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:kubic:libcontainers:stable:cri-o:${crio_version}/${os}/Release.key | sudo apt-key add -
-	curl -L https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:/kubic:/libcontainers:/stable/${os}/Release.key | sudo apt-key add -
-	sudo apt update
-	sudo apt install -y cri-o cri-o-runc
-
-	# We need to set the default capabilities to ensure our tests will pass
-	# See: https://github.com/kata-containers/kata-containers/issues/8034
-	sudo mkdir -p /etc/crio/crio.conf.d/
-	cat <<EOF | sudo tee /etc/crio/crio.conf.d/00-default-capabilities
-[crio.runtime]
-default_capabilities = [
-       "CHOWN",
-       "DAC_OVERRIDE",
-       "FSETID",
-       "FOWNER",
-       "SETGID",
-       "SETUID",
-       "SETPCAP",
-       "NET_BIND_SERVICE",
-       "KILL",
-       "SYS_CHROOT",
-]
-EOF
-
-	sudo systemctl enable --now crio
+	install_crio ${crio_version}
 }
 
 function deploy_k8s() {