diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/pod-security-admission/policy/check_sysctls.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/pod-security-admission/policy/check_sysctls.go
index da1479373eb..63fb07e9173 100644
--- a/staging/src/k8s.io/pod-security-admission/policy/check_sysctls.go
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/pod-security-admission/policy/check_sysctls.go
@@ -25,6 +25,26 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/pod-security-admission/api"
 )
 
+/*
+
+Sysctls can disable security mechanisms or affect all containers on a host,
+and should be disallowed except for an allowed "safe" subset.
+
+A sysctl is considered safe if it is namespaced in the container or the Pod,
+and it is isolated from other Pods or processes on the same Node.
+
+**Restricted Fields:**
+spec.securityContext.sysctls[*].name
+
+**Allowed Values:**
+'kernel.shm_rmid_forced'
+'net.ipv4.ip_local_port_range'
+'net.ipv4.tcp_syncookies'
+'net.ipv4.ping_group_range'
+'net.ipv4.ip_unprivileged_port_start'
+
+*/
+
 func init() {
 	addCheck(CheckSysctls)
 }
@@ -38,7 +58,7 @@ func CheckSysctls() Check {
 		Versions: []VersionedCheck{
 			{
 				MinimumVersion: api.MajorMinorVersion(1, 0),
-				CheckPod:       checkSysctls_1_0,
+				CheckPod:       sysctls_1_0,
 			},
 		},
 	}
@@ -54,7 +74,7 @@ var (
 	)
 )
 
-func checkSysctls_1_0(podMetadata *metav1.ObjectMeta, podSpec *corev1.PodSpec) CheckResult {
+func sysctls_1_0(podMetadata *metav1.ObjectMeta, podSpec *corev1.PodSpec) CheckResult {
 	var forbiddenSysctls []string
 
 	if podSpec.SecurityContext != nil {
diff --git a/staging/src/k8s.io/pod-security-admission/policy/check_sysctls_test.go b/staging/src/k8s.io/pod-security-admission/policy/check_sysctls_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..450b383146e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/staging/src/k8s.io/pod-security-admission/policy/check_sysctls_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2021 The Kubernetes Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package policy
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	corev1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
+)
+
+func TestSysctls(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name         string
+		pod          *corev1.Pod
+		expectReason string
+		expectDetail string
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "forbidden sysctls",
+			pod: &corev1.Pod{Spec: corev1.PodSpec{
+				SecurityContext: &corev1.PodSecurityContext{
+					Sysctls: []corev1.Sysctl{{Name: "a"}, {Name: "b"}},
+				},
+			}},
+			expectReason: `forbidden sysctls`,
+			expectDetail: `a, b`,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			result := sysctls_1_0(&tc.pod.ObjectMeta, &tc.pod.Spec)
+			if result.Allowed {
+				t.Fatal("expected disallowed")
+			}
+			if e, a := tc.expectReason, result.ForbiddenReason; e != a {
+				t.Errorf("expected\n%s\ngot\n%s", e, a)
+			}
+			if e, a := tc.expectDetail, result.ForbiddenDetail; e != a {
+				t.Errorf("expected\n%s\ngot\n%s", e, a)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}