Kubernetes Suspicious Self-Subject Review via Unusual User Agent
This rule detects when a service account or node attempts to enumerate their own permissions via the selfsubjectaccessreview or selfsubjectrulesreview APIs via an unusual user agent. This is highly unusual behavior…
Description
This rule detects when a service account or node attempts to enumerate their own permissions via the selfsubjectaccessreview or selfsubjectrulesreview APIs via an unusual user agent. This is highly unusual behavior for non-human identities like service accounts and nodes. An adversary may have gained access to credentials/tokens and this could be an attempt to determine what privileges they have to facilitate further movement or execution 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
- ContainersIaaSIdentity ProviderLinuxmacOSOffice SuiteSaaSWindows
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
- An administrator may submit this request as an "impersonatedUser" to determine what privileges a particular service account has been granted. However, an adversary may utilize the same technique as a means to determine the privileges of another token other than that of the compromised account.
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/reference/access-authn-authz/authorization/#checking-api-access | 5 |
| techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-defender-for-cloud/detecting-identity-attacks-in-kubernetes/ba-p/3232340 | Only this detection cites it |
| www.paloaltonetworks.com/apps/pan/public/downloadResource?pagePath=/content/pan/en_US/resources/whitepapers/kubernetes-privilege-escalation-excessive-permissions-in-popular-platforms | 3 |
From the source
- At source
- Open at source
- Upstream identifier
- 12a2f15d-597e-4334-88ff-38a02cb1330b
- Tagged by the source as
- Data Source: KubernetesDomain: CloudDomain: ContainersDomain: KubernetesNoise: HighPerformance: FastPlatform: KubernetesProfile: AggressiveResources: Investigation GuideRule Type: New TermsTactic: DiscoveryUse Case: Threat Detection
Licence
- Published under
- Elastic License 2.0Read the licence
- Attribution
- Required
Authorship
- Written by
- Published
- Sep 20, 2026
- Version
- 3