diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/apis/config/types.go b/pkg/kubelet/apis/config/types.go
index 84074eaf566..c407769a017 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/apis/config/types.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/apis/config/types.go
@@ -340,7 +340,7 @@ type KubeletConfiguration struct {
 	ContainerLogMaxFiles int32
 	// ConfigMapAndSecretChangeDetectionStrategy is a mode in which config map and secret managers are running.
 	ConfigMapAndSecretChangeDetectionStrategy ResourceChangeDetectionStrategy
-	// A comma separated whitelist of unsafe sysctls or sysctl patterns (ending in *).
+	// A comma separated allowlist of unsafe sysctls or sysctl patterns (ending in *).
 	// Unsafe sysctl groups are kernel.shm*, kernel.msg*, kernel.sem, fs.mqueue.*, and net.*.
 	// These sysctls are namespaced but not allowed by default.  For example: "kernel.msg*,net.ipv4.route.min_pmtu"
 	// +optional
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/cm/cgroup_manager_linux.go b/pkg/kubelet/cm/cgroup_manager_linux.go
index 7d2644026fd..4936f4b166b 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/cm/cgroup_manager_linux.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/cm/cgroup_manager_linux.go
@@ -279,16 +279,16 @@ func (m *cgroupManagerImpl) Exists(name CgroupName) bool {
 	// scoped to the set control groups it understands.  this is being discussed
 	// in https://github.com/opencontainers/runc/issues/1440
 	// once resolved, we can remove this code.
-	whitelistControllers := sets.NewString("cpu", "cpuacct", "cpuset", "memory", "systemd", "pids")
+	allowlistControllers := sets.NewString("cpu", "cpuacct", "cpuset", "memory", "systemd", "pids")
 
 	if _, ok := m.subsystems.MountPoints["hugetlb"]; ok {
-		whitelistControllers.Insert("hugetlb")
+		allowlistControllers.Insert("hugetlb")
 	}
 	var missingPaths []string
 	// If even one cgroup path doesn't exist, then the cgroup doesn't exist.
 	for controller, path := range cgroupPaths {
 		// ignore mounts we don't care about
-		if !whitelistControllers.Has(controller) {
+		if !allowlistControllers.Has(controller) {
 			continue
 		}
 		if !libcontainercgroups.PathExists(path) {
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/kubelet.go b/pkg/kubelet/kubelet.go
index 83be4c8cfc7..bb3ec0c070f 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/kubelet.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/kubelet.go
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/kubelet/util/sliceutils"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/kubelet/volumemanager"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/security/apparmor"
-	sysctlwhitelist "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/security/podsecuritypolicy/sysctl"
+	sysctlallowlist "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/security/podsecuritypolicy/sysctl"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/util/oom"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/util/selinux"
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/volume"
@@ -820,14 +820,14 @@ func NewMainKubelet(kubeCfg *kubeletconfiginternal.KubeletConfiguration,
 	klet.evictionManager = evictionManager
 	klet.admitHandlers.AddPodAdmitHandler(evictionAdmitHandler)
 
-	// Safe, whitelisted sysctls can always be used as unsafe sysctls in the spec.
+	// Safe, allowed sysctls can always be used as unsafe sysctls in the spec.
 	// Hence, we concatenate those two lists.
-	safeAndUnsafeSysctls := append(sysctlwhitelist.SafeSysctlWhitelist(), allowedUnsafeSysctls...)
-	sysctlsWhitelist, err := sysctl.NewWhitelist(safeAndUnsafeSysctls)
+	safeAndUnsafeSysctls := append(sysctlallowlist.SafeSysctlAllowlist(), allowedUnsafeSysctls...)
+	sysctlsAllowlist, err := sysctl.NewAllowlist(safeAndUnsafeSysctls)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	klet.admitHandlers.AddPodAdmitHandler(sysctlsWhitelist)
+	klet.admitHandlers.AddPodAdmitHandler(sysctlsAllowlist)
 
 	// enable active deadline handler
 	activeDeadlineHandler, err := newActiveDeadlineHandler(klet.statusManager, kubeDeps.Recorder, klet.clock)
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/kubelet_pods.go b/pkg/kubelet/kubelet_pods.go
index 136080c08f1..1d78950e77a 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/kubelet_pods.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/kubelet_pods.go
@@ -1791,7 +1791,7 @@ func (kl *Kubelet) convertToAPIContainerStatuses(pod *v1.Pod, podStatus *kubecon
 
 // ServeLogs returns logs of current machine.
 func (kl *Kubelet) ServeLogs(w http.ResponseWriter, req *http.Request) {
-	// TODO: whitelist logs we are willing to serve
+	// TODO: allowlist logs we are willing to serve
 	kl.logServer.ServeHTTP(w, req)
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/sysctl/whitelist.go b/pkg/kubelet/sysctl/allowlist.go
similarity index 83%
rename from pkg/kubelet/sysctl/whitelist.go
rename to pkg/kubelet/sysctl/allowlist.go
index f259bc1b61c..e1a67ea8cb9 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/sysctl/whitelist.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/sysctl/allowlist.go
@@ -30,19 +30,19 @@ const (
 	ForbiddenReason         = "SysctlForbidden"
 )
 
-// patternWhitelist takes a list of sysctls or sysctl patterns (ending in *) and
+// patternAllowlist takes a list of sysctls or sysctl patterns (ending in *) and
 // checks validity via a sysctl and prefix map, rejecting those which are not known
 // to be namespaced.
-type patternWhitelist struct {
+type patternAllowlist struct {
 	sysctls  map[string]Namespace
 	prefixes map[string]Namespace
 }
 
-var _ lifecycle.PodAdmitHandler = &patternWhitelist{}
+var _ lifecycle.PodAdmitHandler = &patternAllowlist{}
 
-// NewWhitelist creates a new Whitelist from a list of sysctls and sysctl pattern (ending in *).
-func NewWhitelist(patterns []string) (*patternWhitelist, error) {
-	w := &patternWhitelist{
+// NewAllowlist creates a new Allowlist from a list of sysctls and sysctl pattern (ending in *).
+func NewAllowlist(patterns []string) (*patternAllowlist, error) {
+	w := &patternAllowlist{
 		sysctls:  map[string]Namespace{},
 		prefixes: map[string]Namespace{},
 	}
@@ -73,14 +73,14 @@ func NewWhitelist(patterns []string) (*patternWhitelist, error) {
 	return w, nil
 }
 
-// validateSysctl checks that a sysctl is whitelisted because it is known
-// to be namespaced by the Linux kernel. Note that being whitelisted is required, but not
+// validateSysctl checks that a sysctl is allowlisted because it is known
+// to be namespaced by the Linux kernel. Note that being allowlisted is required, but not
 // sufficient: the container runtime might have a stricter check and refuse to launch a pod.
 //
 // The parameters hostNet and hostIPC are used to forbid sysctls for pod sharing the
 // respective namespaces with the host. This check is only possible for sysctls on
-// the static default whitelist, not those on the custom whitelist provided by the admin.
-func (w *patternWhitelist) validateSysctl(sysctl string, hostNet, hostIPC bool) error {
+// the static default allowlist, not those on the custom allowlist provided by the admin.
+func (w *patternAllowlist) validateSysctl(sysctl string, hostNet, hostIPC bool) error {
 	nsErrorFmt := "%q not allowed with host %s enabled"
 	if ns, found := w.sysctls[sysctl]; found {
 		if ns == ipcNamespace && hostIPC {
@@ -102,12 +102,12 @@ func (w *patternWhitelist) validateSysctl(sysctl string, hostNet, hostIPC bool)
 			return nil
 		}
 	}
-	return fmt.Errorf("%q not whitelisted", sysctl)
+	return fmt.Errorf("%q not allowlisted", sysctl)
 }
 
 // Admit checks that all sysctls given in pod's security context
-// are valid according to the whitelist.
-func (w *patternWhitelist) Admit(attrs *lifecycle.PodAdmitAttributes) lifecycle.PodAdmitResult {
+// are valid according to the allowlist.
+func (w *patternAllowlist) Admit(attrs *lifecycle.PodAdmitAttributes) lifecycle.PodAdmitResult {
 	pod := attrs.Pod
 	if pod.Spec.SecurityContext == nil || len(pod.Spec.SecurityContext.Sysctls) == 0 {
 		return lifecycle.PodAdmitResult{
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/sysctl/whitelist_test.go b/pkg/kubelet/sysctl/allowlist_test.go
similarity index 82%
rename from pkg/kubelet/sysctl/whitelist_test.go
rename to pkg/kubelet/sysctl/allowlist_test.go
index 0b6401e3423..bbf5c8c195c 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/sysctl/whitelist_test.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/sysctl/allowlist_test.go
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/security/podsecuritypolicy/sysctl"
 )
 
-func TestNewWhitelist(t *testing.T) {
+func TestNewAllowlist(t *testing.T) {
 	type Test struct {
 		sysctls []string
 		err     bool
@@ -35,16 +35,16 @@ func TestNewWhitelist(t *testing.T) {
 		{sysctls: []string{"net.*.foo"}, err: true},
 		{sysctls: []string{"foo"}, err: true},
 	} {
-		_, err := NewWhitelist(append(sysctl.SafeSysctlWhitelist(), test.sysctls...))
+		_, err := NewAllowlist(append(sysctl.SafeSysctlAllowlist(), test.sysctls...))
 		if test.err && err == nil {
-			t.Errorf("expected an error creating a whitelist for %v", test.sysctls)
+			t.Errorf("expected an error creating a allowlist for %v", test.sysctls)
 		} else if !test.err && err != nil {
-			t.Errorf("got unexpected error creating a whitelist for %v: %v", test.sysctls, err)
+			t.Errorf("got unexpected error creating a allowlist for %v: %v", test.sysctls, err)
 		}
 	}
 }
 
-func TestWhitelist(t *testing.T) {
+func TestAllowlist(t *testing.T) {
 	type Test struct {
 		sysctl           string
 		hostNet, hostIPC bool
@@ -65,14 +65,14 @@ func TestWhitelist(t *testing.T) {
 		{sysctl: "kernel.sem", hostIPC: true},
 	}
 
-	w, err := NewWhitelist(append(sysctl.SafeSysctlWhitelist(), "kernel.msg*", "kernel.sem"))
+	w, err := NewAllowlist(append(sysctl.SafeSysctlAllowlist(), "kernel.msg*", "kernel.sem"))
 	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("failed to create whitelist: %v", err)
+		t.Fatalf("failed to create allowlist: %v", err)
 	}
 
 	for _, test := range valid {
 		if err := w.validateSysctl(test.sysctl, test.hostNet, test.hostIPC); err != nil {
-			t.Errorf("expected to be whitelisted: %+v, got: %v", test, err)
+			t.Errorf("expected to be allowlisted: %+v, got: %v", test, err)
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/pkg/security/podsecuritypolicy/factory.go b/pkg/security/podsecuritypolicy/factory.go
index ed019b223e3..4dd4037ec81 100644
--- a/pkg/security/podsecuritypolicy/factory.go
+++ b/pkg/security/podsecuritypolicy/factory.go
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ func (f *simpleStrategyFactory) CreateStrategies(psp *policy.PodSecurityPolicy,
 		errs = append(errs, err)
 	}
 
-	sysctlsStrat := createSysctlsStrategy(sysctl.SafeSysctlWhitelist(), psp.Spec.AllowedUnsafeSysctls, psp.Spec.ForbiddenSysctls)
+	sysctlsStrat := createSysctlsStrategy(sysctl.SafeSysctlAllowlist(), psp.Spec.AllowedUnsafeSysctls, psp.Spec.ForbiddenSysctls)
 
 	if len(errs) > 0 {
 		return nil, errors.NewAggregate(errs)
@@ -191,6 +191,6 @@ func createCapabilitiesStrategy(defaultAddCaps, requiredDropCaps, allowedCaps []
 }
 
 // createSysctlsStrategy creates a new sysctls strategy.
-func createSysctlsStrategy(safeWhitelist, allowedUnsafeSysctls, forbiddenSysctls []string) sysctl.SysctlsStrategy {
-	return sysctl.NewMustMatchPatterns(safeWhitelist, allowedUnsafeSysctls, forbiddenSysctls)
+func createSysctlsStrategy(safeAllowlist, allowedUnsafeSysctls, forbiddenSysctls []string) sysctl.SysctlsStrategy {
+	return sysctl.NewMustMatchPatterns(safeAllowlist, allowedUnsafeSysctls, forbiddenSysctls)
 }
diff --git a/pkg/security/podsecuritypolicy/provider_test.go b/pkg/security/podsecuritypolicy/provider_test.go
index 6e5085085bd..b92d4027a9f 100644
--- a/pkg/security/podsecuritypolicy/provider_test.go
+++ b/pkg/security/podsecuritypolicy/provider_test.go
@@ -1006,19 +1006,19 @@ func TestValidatePodSuccess(t *testing.T) {
 			pod: seccompPod,
 			psp: seccompPSP,
 		},
-		"flex volume driver in a whitelist (all volumes are allowed)": {
+		"flex volume driver in a allowlist (all volumes are allowed)": {
 			pod: flexVolumePod,
 			psp: allowFlexVolumesPSP(false, true),
 		},
-		"flex volume driver with empty whitelist (all volumes are allowed)": {
+		"flex volume driver with empty allowlist (all volumes are allowed)": {
 			pod: flexVolumePod,
 			psp: allowFlexVolumesPSP(true, true),
 		},
-		"flex volume driver in a whitelist (only flex volumes are allowed)": {
+		"flex volume driver in a allowlist (only flex volumes are allowed)": {
 			pod: flexVolumePod,
 			psp: allowFlexVolumesPSP(false, false),
 		},
-		"flex volume driver with empty whitelist (only flex volumes volumes are allowed)": {
+		"flex volume driver with empty allowlist (only flex volumes volumes are allowed)": {
 			pod: flexVolumePod,
 			psp: allowFlexVolumesPSP(true, false),
 		},
diff --git a/pkg/security/podsecuritypolicy/sysctl/mustmatchpatterns.go b/pkg/security/podsecuritypolicy/sysctl/mustmatchpatterns.go
index d72e18324c5..2c9b9e5b0f4 100644
--- a/pkg/security/podsecuritypolicy/sysctl/mustmatchpatterns.go
+++ b/pkg/security/podsecuritypolicy/sysctl/mustmatchpatterns.go
@@ -24,12 +24,12 @@ import (
 	api "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/apis/core"
 )
 
-// SafeSysctlWhitelist returns the whitelist of safe sysctls and safe sysctl patterns (ending in *).
+// SafeSysctlAllowlist returns the allowlist of safe sysctls and safe sysctl patterns (ending in *).
 //
 // A sysctl is called safe iff
 // - it is namespaced in the container or the pod
 // - it is isolated, i.e. has no influence on any other pod on the same node.
-func SafeSysctlWhitelist() []string {
+func SafeSysctlAllowlist() []string {
 	return []string{
 		"kernel.shm_rmid_forced",
 		"net.ipv4.ip_local_port_range",
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ func SafeSysctlWhitelist() []string {
 
 // mustMatchPatterns implements the SysctlsStrategy interface
 type mustMatchPatterns struct {
-	safeWhitelist        []string
+	safeAllowlist        []string
 	allowedUnsafeSysctls []string
 	forbiddenSysctls     []string
 }
@@ -52,9 +52,9 @@ var (
 
 // NewMustMatchPatterns creates a new mustMatchPatterns strategy that will provide validation.
 // Passing nil means the default pattern, passing an empty list means to disallow all sysctls.
-func NewMustMatchPatterns(safeWhitelist, allowedUnsafeSysctls, forbiddenSysctls []string) SysctlsStrategy {
+func NewMustMatchPatterns(safeAllowlist, allowedUnsafeSysctls, forbiddenSysctls []string) SysctlsStrategy {
 	return &mustMatchPatterns{
-		safeWhitelist:        safeWhitelist,
+		safeAllowlist:        safeAllowlist,
 		allowedUnsafeSysctls: allowedUnsafeSysctls,
 		forbiddenSysctls:     forbiddenSysctls,
 	}
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ func (s *mustMatchPatterns) isForbidden(sysctlName string) bool {
 }
 
 func (s *mustMatchPatterns) isSafe(sysctlName string) bool {
-	for _, ws := range s.safeWhitelist {
+	for _, ws := range s.safeAllowlist {
 		if sysctlName == ws {
 			return true
 		}
diff --git a/pkg/security/podsecuritypolicy/sysctl/mustmatchpatterns_test.go b/pkg/security/podsecuritypolicy/sysctl/mustmatchpatterns_test.go
index 9bc7b0c6aff..a1073d7d6de 100644
--- a/pkg/security/podsecuritypolicy/sysctl/mustmatchpatterns_test.go
+++ b/pkg/security/podsecuritypolicy/sysctl/mustmatchpatterns_test.go
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ import (
 
 func TestValidate(t *testing.T) {
 	tests := map[string]struct {
-		whitelist     []string
+		allowlist     []string
 		forbiddenSafe []string
 		allowedUnsafe []string
 		allowed       []string
@@ -32,16 +32,16 @@ func TestValidate(t *testing.T) {
 	}{
 		// no container requests
 		"with allow all": {
-			whitelist: []string{"foo"},
+			allowlist: []string{"foo"},
 			allowed:   []string{"foo"},
 		},
 		"empty": {
-			whitelist:     []string{"foo"},
+			allowlist:     []string{"foo"},
 			forbiddenSafe: []string{"*"},
 			disallowed:    []string{"foo"},
 		},
 		"without wildcard": {
-			whitelist:  []string{"a", "a.b"},
+			allowlist:  []string{"a", "a.b"},
 			allowed:    []string{"a", "a.b"},
 			disallowed: []string{"b"},
 		},
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ func TestValidate(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	for k, v := range tests {
-		strategy := NewMustMatchPatterns(v.whitelist, v.allowedUnsafe, v.forbiddenSafe)
+		strategy := NewMustMatchPatterns(v.allowlist, v.allowedUnsafe, v.forbiddenSafe)
 
 		pod := &api.Pod{}
 		errs := strategy.Validate(pod)