Kubernetes RBAC SelfSubjectRulesReview Permission Enumeration Attempt
Alerts on Kubernetes selfsubjectrulesreviews API calls that enumerate the caller’s RBAC permissions.
- Product
- kubernetes
- Category
- application
- Author
- Leo Tsaousis (@laripping) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
- Published
- 2024-03-26
- Updated
- 2026-07-31
ATT&CK techniques
DiscoveryRecon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact
What it detects
This rule identifies attempts to enumerate a Kubernetes identity’s RBAC permissions by creating SelfSubjectRulesReview requests against the authorization.k8s.io API group. Attackers commonly use these self-subject access checks early in an intrusion to discover what actions the compromised user or service account can perform. The detection relies on Kubernetes audit logs capturing the request verb, API group, and the selfsubjectrulesreviews resource reference.
Reporting behind it
Changelog
v5- v5Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
- v4Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
- v3Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
- v2Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
- v1No changelog recorded for this version.2026-07-30
Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.
title: Kubernetes RBAC SelfSubjectRulesReview Permission Enumeration Attempt
id: 9acdd3ce-f9aa-45df-ab05-32856ba57243
status: test
description: This rule identifies attempts to enumerate a Kubernetes identity’s RBAC permissions by creating SelfSubjectRulesReview requests against the authorization.k8s.io API group. Attackers commonly use these self-subject access checks early in an intrusion to discover what actions the compromised user or service account can perform. The detection relies on Kubernetes audit logs capturing the request verb, API group, and the selfsubjectrulesreviews resource reference.
references:
- https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/security/current/kubernetes-suspicious-self-subject-review.html
- https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/application/kubernetes/audit/kubernetes_audit_rbac_permisions_listing.yml
author: Leo Tsaousis (@laripping), Huntrule Team
date: 2024-03-26
tags:
- attack.t1069.003
- attack.t1087.004
- attack.discovery
logsource:
category: application
product: kubernetes
service: audit
detection:
selection:
verb: create
apiGroup: authorization.k8s.io
objectRef.resource: selfsubjectrulesreviews
condition: selection
falsepositives:
- Unknown
level: low
license: DRL-1.1
related:
- id: 84b777bd-c946-4d17-aa2e-c39f5a454325
type: derived