Script DNS Query to Managed Kubernetes Cluster


Description

Identifies a scripting interpreter or download utility followed within one minute by a DNS lookup of a managed Kubernetes cluster API hostname (AWS EKS, Azure AKS, Google GKE, or Vultr Kubernetes). Adversaries and post-exploitation tooling may use shells, download utilities, or language runtimes to reach cluster control planes after harvesting kubeconfig credentials or service account tokens.

Query · eql

sequence by process.entity_id with maxspan=1m
  [process where event.type == "start" and event.action == "exec" and (
    process.name in (
      "fish", "zsh", "bash", "dash", "sh", "tcsh", "csh", "ksh", "curl", "wget", "node", "bun", "deno", "pwsh",
      "busybox", "timeout", "env", "java"
    ) or
    process.name like ("python*", "perl*", "php*", "ruby*", "lua*")
  )
  and not (process.name in ("fish", "zsh", "bash", "dash", "sh", "tcsh", "csh", "ksh") and process.args like ("*kubectl*", "*/shims/k9s"))
  ]
  [dns where dns.question.name like~ ("*eks.amazonaws.com", "*.azmk8s.io", "*.gke.goog", "*.vultr-k8s.com")]
Raw source Script DNS Query to Managed Kubernetes Cluster · Elastic TOML
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Published by elastic/protections-artifacts ↗, licensed under Elastic License 2.0 ↗. Reproduced here unmodified.
[rule]
description = """
Identifies a scripting interpreter or download utility followed within one minute by a DNS lookup of a managed
Kubernetes cluster API hostname (AWS EKS, Azure AKS, Google GKE, or Vultr Kubernetes). Adversaries and post-exploitation
tooling may use shells, download utilities, or language runtimes to reach cluster control planes after harvesting
kubeconfig credentials or service account tokens.
"""
id = "37249ca9-0e71-413f-899b-ae60b1599e34"
license = "Elastic License v2"
name = "Script DNS Query to Managed Kubernetes Cluster"
os_list = ["linux"]
version = "1.0.1"

query = '''
sequence by process.entity_id with maxspan=1m
  [process where event.type == "start" and event.action == "exec" and (
    process.name in (
      "fish", "zsh", "bash", "dash", "sh", "tcsh", "csh", "ksh", "curl", "wget", "node", "bun", "deno", "pwsh",
      "busybox", "timeout", "env", "java"
    ) or
    process.name like ("python*", "perl*", "php*", "ruby*", "lua*")
  )
  and not (process.name in ("fish", "zsh", "bash", "dash", "sh", "tcsh", "csh", "ksh") and process.args like ("*kubectl*", "*/shims/k9s"))
  ]
  [dns where dns.question.name like~ ("*eks.amazonaws.com", "*.azmk8s.io", "*.gke.goog", "*.vultr-k8s.com")]
'''

min_endpoint_version = "9.3.0"
optional_actions = []
[[actions]]
action = "kill_process"
field = "process.entity_id"
state = 0

[[actions]]
action = "kill_process"
field = "process.entity_id"
state = 1

[[actions]]
action = "kill_process"
field = "process.parent.entity_id"
state = 0

[[actions]]
action = "kill_process"
field = "process.parent.entity_id"
state = 1

[[threat]]
framework = "MITRE ATT&CK"
[[threat.technique]]
id = "T1613"
name = "Container and Resource Discovery"
reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1613/"


[threat.tactic]
id = "TA0007"
name = "Discovery"
reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0007/"
[[threat]]
framework = "MITRE ATT&CK"
[[threat.technique]]
id = "T1071"
name = "Application Layer Protocol"
reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1071/"
[[threat.technique.subtechnique]]
id = "T1071.004"
name = "DNS"
reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1071/004/"



[threat.tactic]
id = "TA0011"
name = "Command and Control"
reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0011/"

[internal]
min_endpoint_version = "9.3.0"

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