Elastic Security Detection Rules

Kubectl Permission Discovery

Last updated 7 days ago on 2025-06-17
Created 7 days ago on 2025-06-17

About

This rule detects the use of the "kubectl auth --can-i" command, which is used to check permissions in Kubernetes clusters. Attackers may use this command to enumerate permissions and discover potential misconfigurations in the cluster, allowing them to gain unauthorized access or escalate privileges.
Tags
Domain: EndpointDomain: ContainerOS: LinuxUse Case: Threat DetectionTactic: DiscoveryData Source: Elastic DefendLanguage: eql
Severity
low
Risk Score
21
MITRE ATT&CK™

Discovery (TA0007)(opens in a new tab or window)

↳ Container and Resource Discovery (T1613)(opens in a new tab or window)

License
Elastic License v2(opens in a new tab or window)

Definition

Rule Type
Event Correlation Rule
Integration Pack
Prebuilt Security Detection Rules
Index Patterns
logs-endpoint.events.process*
Related Integrations

endpoint(opens in a new tab or window)

Query
process where host.os.type == "linux" and event.type == "start" and event.action == "exec" and
process.name == "kubectl" and process.args == "auth" and process.args == "can-i"

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect Kubectl Permission Discovery in the Elastic Security detection engine by installing this rule into your Elastic Stack.

To setup this rule, check out the installation guide for Prebuilt Security Detection Rules(opens in a new tab or window).