Suspicious AWS ECS Task Definition That Queries The Credential Endpoint (via cloudtrail)

title: Suspicious AWS ECS Task Definition That Queries The Credential Endpoint (via cloudtrail)
id: 1fa94ef1-3f30-5453-b1bf-28f2c16c9c4b
status: stable
description: This rule detects when an Elastic Container Service (ECS) Task Definition includes a command to query the credential endpoint. This can indicate a potential adversary adding a backdoor to establish persistence or escalate privileges.
references:
    - https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1525/
    - https://github.com/RhinoSecurityLabs/pacu/blob/866376cd711666c775bbfcde0524c817f2c5b181/pacu/modules/ecs__backdoor_task_def/main.py
    - https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECS/latest/APIReference/API_RegisterTaskDefinition.html
    - https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECS/latest/developerguide/task-iam-roles.html
author: Huntrule Team
date: 2026-04-16
tags:
    - attack.persistence
    - attack.t1525
logsource:
    product: aws
    service: cloudtrail
detection:
    selection:
        eventSource: 'ecs.amazonaws.com'
        eventName:
            - 'DescribeTaskDefinition'
            - 'RegisterTaskDefinition'
            - 'RunTask'
        requestParameters.containerDefinitions.command|contains: '$AWS_CONTAINER_CREDENTIALS_RELATIVE_URI'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Unknown
level: medium