Skip to content

[New Rules] GCP GKE Rule Conversions Part 3#6445

Open
imays11 wants to merge 1 commit into
mainfrom
k8s_conversion_part_3
Open

[New Rules] GCP GKE Rule Conversions Part 3#6445
imays11 wants to merge 1 commit into
mainfrom
k8s_conversion_part_3

Conversation

@imays11

@imays11 imays11 commented Jul 14, 2026

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Contributor

Pull Request

Issue link(s):

Summary

Converts five Kubernetes Fleet privilege-abuse rules to GKE/GCP Fleet audit format (logs-gcp.audit-*, service.name:"k8s.io"). Validated on trade-lab and Zocalo cluster.


GKE Ephemeral Container Added to Pod
Original: https://github.com/elastic/detection-rules/blob/main/rules/integrations/kubernetes/privilege_escalation_kubernetes_ephemeral_container_added_to_pod.toml

Detects update/patch of pods/ephemeralcontainers — a common post-compromise debug-shell technique.


GKE Exposed Service Created With Type NodePort Original: https://github.com/elastic/detection-rules/blob/main/rules/integrations/kubernetes/persistence_kubernetes_exposed_service_created_with_type_nodeport.toml

Detects create/update/patch of a Service with spec.type: NodePort.

Key changes: Excludes system:addon-manager on services.patch only. (based on telemetry)


GKE Service Account Token Created via TokenRequest API Original: https://github.com/elastic/detection-rules/blob/main/rules/integrations/kubernetes/credential_access_kubernetes_service_account_token_created.toml

Detects serviceaccounts/token create (kubectl create token / TokenRequest API).


GKE API Server Proxying Request to Kubelet
Original: https://github.com/elastic/detection-rules/blob/main/rules/integrations/kubernetes/privilege_escalation_kubernetes_proxy_to_node.toml

Detects API-server proxy to the node kubelet (nodes/proxy).


GKE API Request Impersonating Privileged Identity Original: https://github.com/elastic/detection-rules/blob/main/rules/integrations/kubernetes/privilege_escalation_kubernetes_api_request_impersonating_privileged_identity.toml

Detects successful API calls impersonating privileged identities (system:admin, controller-manager, kube-system SAs, nodes, etc.).

Key changes: GKE maps impersonation to gcp.audit.authentication_info.authority_selector (not impersonatedUser). No verb filter. --as-group (e.g. system:masters) is not exposed as a structured field in Cloud Audit Logs.

How To Test

Queries tested against Zocalo cluster, where no data found I emulated behavior to test in trade stack.

## Summary

Converts five Kubernetes Fleet privilege-abuse rules to GKE/GCP Fleet audit format (`logs-gcp.audit-*`, `service.name:"k8s.io"`). Validated on trade-lab and Zocalo cluster.

---

**GKE Ephemeral Container Added to Pod**
Original: https://github.com/elastic/detection-rules/blob/main/rules/integrations/kubernetes/privilege_escalation_kubernetes_ephemeral_container_added_to_pod.toml

Detects update/patch of `pods/ephemeralcontainers` — a common post-compromise debug-shell technique.

---

**GKE Exposed Service Created With Type NodePort**
Original: https://github.com/elastic/detection-rules/blob/main/rules/integrations/kubernetes/persistence_kubernetes_exposed_service_created_with_type_nodeport.toml

Detects create/update/patch of a Service with `spec.type: NodePort`.

Key changes: Excludes `system:addon-manager` on `services.patch` only. (based on telemetry)

---

**GKE Service Account Token Created via TokenRequest API**
Original: https://github.com/elastic/detection-rules/blob/main/rules/integrations/kubernetes/credential_access_kubernetes_service_account_token_created.toml

Detects `serviceaccounts/token` create (`kubectl create token` / TokenRequest API).

---

**GKE API Server Proxying Request to Kubelet**
Original: https://github.com/elastic/detection-rules/blob/main/rules/integrations/kubernetes/privilege_escalation_kubernetes_proxy_to_node.toml

Detects API-server proxy to the node kubelet (`nodes/proxy`).

---

**GKE API Request Impersonating Privileged Identity**
Original: https://github.com/elastic/detection-rules/blob/main/rules/integrations/kubernetes/privilege_escalation_kubernetes_api_request_impersonating_privileged_identity.toml

Detects successful API calls impersonating privileged identities (`system:admin`, controller-manager, kube-system SAs, nodes, etc.).

Key changes: GKE maps impersonation to `gcp.audit.authentication_info.authority_selector` (not `impersonatedUser`). No verb filter. `--as-group` (e.g. `system:masters`) is not exposed as a structured field in Cloud Audit Logs.
@github-actions

Copy link
Copy Markdown
Contributor

Rule: New - Guidelines

These guidelines serve as a reminder set of considerations when proposing a new rule.

Documentation and Context

  • Detailed description of the rule.
  • List any new fields required in ECS/data sources.
  • Link related issues or PRs.
  • Include references.

Rule Metadata Checks

  • creation_date matches the date of creation PR initially merged.
  • min_stack_version should support the widest stack versions.
  • name and description should be descriptive and not include typos.
  • query should be inclusive, not overly exclusive, considering performance for diverse environments. Non ecs fields should be added to non-ecs-schema.json if not available in an integration.
  • min_stack_comments and min_stack_version should be included if the rule is only compatible starting from a specific stack version.
  • index pattern should be neither too specific nor too vague, ensuring it accurately matches the relevant data stream (e.g., use logs-endpoint.process-* for process data).
  • integration should align with the index. If the integration is newly introduced, ensure the manifest, schemas, and new_rule.yaml template are updated.
  • setup should include the necessary steps to configure the integration.
  • note should include any additional information (e.g. Triage and analysis investigation guides, timeline templates).
  • tags should be relevant to the threat and align/added to the EXPECTED_RULE_TAGS in the definitions.py file.
  • threat, techniques, and subtechniques should map to ATT&CK always if possible.

New BBR Rules

  • building_block_type should be included if the rule is a building block and the rule should be located in the rules_building_block folder.
  • bypass_bbr_timing should be included if adding custom lookback timing to the rule.

Testing and Validation

  • Provide evidence of testing and detecting the expected threat.
  • Check for existence of coverage to prevent duplication.

Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment

Projects

None yet

Development

Successfully merging this pull request may close these issues.

1 participant