Suspicious Shell Execution Into Kubernetes Pod via API
- Product
- kubernetes
- Service
- audit
- Author
- HuntRule
- Published
- 2026-06-01
- Updated
- 2026-08-28
ATT&CK techniques
Execution → Defense EvasionRecon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact
What it detects
This rule detects Kubernetes API exec subresource requests whose request URI invokes an interactive shell such as bin bash or bin sh inside a running pod as described in NCC Group Kubernetes detection engineering research. Adversaries abuse pod exec to gain interactive access to containers for reconnaissance and lateral movement so unexpected shell sessions should be reviewed.
Reporting behind it
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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