GKE API Server Proxying Request to Kubelet
Detects non-system identities using the GKE nodes/proxy API to reach a node's Kubelet through the API server. The nodes/proxy subresource allows any principal with this permission to call the Kubelet API without…
Description
Detects non-system identities using the GKE nodes/proxy API to reach a node's Kubelet through the API server. The nodes/proxy subresource allows any principal with this permission to call the Kubelet API without direct node network access or Kubelet TLS certificates. Through this path an attacker can list pod specs (including environment secrets), read Kubelet configuration, retrieve container logs, and access running pod metadata on the target node. Monitoring endpoints such as metrics, healthz, and stats/summary are excluded to reduce noise from observability tooling.
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 ProviderLinuxOffice SuiteSaaSWindows
The rule states no platform. This is derived from the 3 ATT&CK techniques it maps to.
- Log source category
- event_index
Known benign triggers
- Legitimate kubelet debugging, node troubleshooting, or security tooling that uses the node proxy outside the excluded metrics paths may match. Baseline approved operators and automation identities after review.
MITRE ATT&CK mappings
0 exclusive techniques.This is coverage no other published rule has; it is not this rule's total technique count.
References
| Reference | Cited by |
|---|---|
| kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/cluster-administration/proxies/ | 2 |
| stratus-red-team.cloud/attack-techniques/kubernetes/k8s.privilege-escalation.nodes-proxy/ | 3 |
From the source
- At source
- Open at source
- Upstream identifier
- a4fa2bf0-1cf9-4803-bed0-1f9c6e57af3c
- Tagged by the source as
- Data Source: GCPData Source: Google Cloud PlatformDomain: CloudDomain: ContainersDomain: KubernetesNoise: UnknownPerformance: NormalPlatform: GCPPlatform: KubernetesResources: Investigation GuideRule Type: Custom Query (KQL)Tactic: DiscoveryTactic: Lateral MovementTactic: Privilege EscalationUse Case: Threat Detection
Licence
- Published under
- Elastic License 2.0Read the licence
- Attribution
- Required
Authorship
- Written by
- Published
- Sep 20, 2026
- Version
- 3