Suspicious Compute Instance Metadata Modification in GCP
- Product
- gcp
- Service
- gcp.audit
- Author
- HuntRule
- Published
- 2026-10-18
- Updated
- 2026-10-18
ATT&CK techniques
Initial Access → Defense EvasionRecon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact
What it detects
This rule detects modification of GCP compute instance metadata through compute.instances.setMetadata, a technique adversaries use to inject SSH keys or startup scripts and gain execution on virtual machines. Changing instance metadata via the control plane provides persistent access without touching the guest network. Detecting this call exposes credentialed access into compute workloads.
Reporting behind it
- unit42.paloaltonetworks.comhttps://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/cloud-virtual-machine-attack-vectors/
- attack.mitre.orghttps://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1651/
- attack.mitre.orghttps://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1078/004/
- wiz.iohttps://www.wiz.io/blog/hunting-for-signs-of-persistence-in-the-cloud-an-ir-guide
- attack.mitre.orghttps://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1098/
Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.
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