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Azure AKS Kubelet Proxy to Command Execution Endpoint

Detects use of the AKS (Azure Kubernetes Service) API server nodes/proxy subresource to reach a node's Kubelet command-execution endpoints (run, exec, attach, portforward, cri). Unlike benign monitoring that scrapes…

Description

Detects use of the AKS (Azure Kubernetes Service) API server nodes/proxy subresource to reach a node's Kubelet command-execution endpoints (run, exec, attach, portforward, cri). Unlike benign monitoring that scrapes /metrics and /stats, a request to these endpoints executes commands inside a pod on the node, the core of the kubeletctl and Peirates lateral-movement technique. Even a GET to /exec is command execution because the Kubelet maps the WebSocket upgrade handshake to the RBAC get verb, so nodes/proxy GET is sufficient for remote code execution.

Detection logic

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Detection requirements

Platform
ContainersESXiLinuxmacOSWindows

The rule states no platform. This is derived from the 2 ATT&CK techniques it maps to.

Log source category
event_index

Known benign triggers

  • Legitimate use of the Kubelet run/exec/attach/portforward endpoints via nodes/proxy is rare. Administrative debugging tools that proxy exec through the API server may match; baseline and exclude verified operators.

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