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GKE Multi-Resource Discovery

Adversaries who land credentials in a GKE cluster—or abuse an over-privileged token, often map the environment before exfiltration or privilege escalation. A practical first pass is to learn where workloads run, how…

Description

Adversaries who land credentials in a GKE cluster—or abuse an over-privileged token, often map the environment before exfiltration or privilege escalation. A practical first pass is to learn where workloads run, how the cluster is partitioned, and what RBAC exists at namespace vs cluster scope. Rapid get/list traffic across many distinct API resource kinds that answer those questions (namespaces, workloads, roles, cluster-wide roles) is a common setup and orientation pattern for both interactive attackers and automated recon scripts. This rule highlights that cross-resource burst from a single client fingerprint within a one-minute bucket when both cluster-layout and RBAC resource kinds are touched, so analysts can separate routine automation from potential discovery ahead of follow-on actions.

Detection logic

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Detection requirements

Platform
Containers

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

Known benign triggers

  • GitOps controllers and cluster scanners can still match if not covered by built-in exclusions; baseline approved service accounts after review.
  • Platform operators, installers, or runbooks that reconcile RBAC and workload state may span these resource types in a short window; tune by identity, source IP, or user agent when documented.

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