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Direct Interactive Kubernetes API Request by Unusual Utilities

This rule leverages a combination of Defend for Containers and Kubernetes audit logs to detect the execution of direct interactive Kubernetes API requests via unusual utilities. An adversary may need to execute…

Description

This rule leverages a combination of Defend for Containers and Kubernetes audit logs to detect the execution of direct interactive Kubernetes API requests via unusual utilities. An adversary may need to execute direct interactive Kubernetes API requests to gain access to the Kubernetes API server or other resources within the cluster. These requests are often used to enumerate the Kubernetes API server or other resources within the cluster, and may indicate an attempt to move laterally within the cluster.

Detection logic

Its licence does not clear it for publishing here

Sunturai publishes a detection's own text where the licence it arrived under has been reviewed and permits it, and Elastic License 2.0 has not. The query as its source wrote it, its canonical form and the hash that pins this revision are in the workspace record.

Detection requirements

Platform
ContainersESXiIaaSIdentity ProviderLinuxmacOSNetwork DevicesOffice SuiteSaaSWindows

The rule states no platform. This is derived from the 6 ATT&CK techniques it maps to.

Log source category
event_index

Known benign triggers

  • There is a potential for false positives if the direct interactive Kubernetes API requests are used for legitimate purposes, such as debugging or troubleshooting. It is important to investigate any alerts generated by this rule to determine if they are indicative of malicious activity or part of legitimate container activity.
  • There is a risk of false positives if there are several containers named the same, as the rule may correlate the request to the wrong container.

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