Kubernetes API server abuse
Over-permissive or unauthenticated API access creates workloads or reads secrets
categoryCloud, container and supply chain attacksseverityVery HighdetectabilityHighlabnot yet measured
Detection opportunity what to watch for
A benign emulation of this technique’s linchpin behaviour — the command an attacker runs, and where we’ve detonated it in the lab, exactly what the SIEM saw, what caught it, and what it missed.
What the attacker runs
sudo /opt/lab/detonate.sh --technique T1552.007 --tool atomic --run-id <run-id> -- pwsh -c 'Import-Module invoke-atomicredteam; Invoke-AtomicTest T1552.007 -TestGuids 788e0019-a483-45da-bcfe-96353d46820f -GetPrereqs -PathToAtomicsFolder /opt/AtomicRedTeam/atomics; Invoke-AtomicTest T1552.007 -TestGuids 788e0019-a483-45da-bcfe-96353d46820f -PathToAtomicsFolder /opt/AtomicRedTeam/atomics -TimeoutSeconds 120'Queued for lab measurement — not yet detonated.
Classification
26 values: 16 reviewed, 8 imported, 2 derived. What do these mean?
Exploitability
| Attack vector | Credential attacksMisconfiguration |
|---|---|
| Reach (CVSS) | Network |
| Attack complexity | Low |
| Privileges required | Low |
| User interaction | None |
| Attacker skill required | Medium |
| Resources required | Low |
| Likelihood / prevalence | High |
| Maturity | Established |
Impact & scope
| Severity | Very High |
|---|---|
| Impact | AvailabilityConfidentialityIntegrity |
| Platform | Containers |
| Environment | CloudOn-premises |
| Target asset class | IdentityServer |
| Kill-chain phase (tactic) | Credential Access |
Detection & telemetry
| Detectability | High |
|---|---|
| Testability | Atomic Red Team test |
| Data sources (ATT&CK data components) | Application Log ContentCommand ExecutionProcess CreationUser Account Authentication |
Detection & response
Mitigated by 13
- M1018 attack-mitigation
- M1026 attack-mitigation
- M1030 attack-mitigation
- M1035 attack-mitigation
D3-ANCId3fendD3-CCSAd3fendD3-CHd3fendD3-CRd3fendD3-CROd3fendD3-CTSd3fendD3-DUCd3fendD3-MFAd3fendD3-RICd3fend
Detected by 5
- DET0198 attack-detection-strategy
6ad91e31-53df-4826-bd27-0166171c8040sigmaa61a3c56-4ce2-4351-a079-88ae4cbd2b58sigmaeeb3e9e1-b685-44e4-9232-6bb701f925b5sigmaeed82177-38f5-4299-8a76-098d50d225absigma
Tested by 3
31e794c4-48fd-4a76-aca4-6587c155bc11atomic43c3a49d-d15c-45e6-b303-f6e177e44a9aatomic788e0019-a483-45da-bcfe-96353d46820fatomic
Attack relationships
- Parent: API key / secret leakage
- Parent: CI/CD credential hygiene failures
Framework references
- Primary source: https://kubernetes-top10.owasp.org/
- owasp-k8s: K06 (primary)
- attack: T1552.007
Evidence & sources
- ev-0001 (Cyber Attack Taxonomy) — Name, definition and Example/ID taken verbatim from the 'Cloud, container and supply chain attacks' table, line 409 of Cyber-Attack-Taxonomy.md
- ev-0002 (MITRE Enterprise ATT&CK v19.2 (STIX 2.1)) — ATT&CK usage prevalence: 3 groups/software/campaigns reference this technique (ATT&CK enterprise v19.2)