Elastic Security Detection Rules

Azure AKS Service Account Token Created via TokenRequest API

Last updated 12 days ago on 2026-07-23
Created 12 days ago on 2026-07-23

About

Detects an identity minting a service account token via the AKS (Azure Kubernetes Service) TokenRequest API (serviceaccounts/token), excluding known AKS control-plane and platform identities. Adversaries request service account tokens from a compromised identity to impersonate a workload, move laterally, or escalate privileges within the cluster. Coverage includes workload service accounts (system:serviceaccount:*), so a compromised in-cluster token minting a token for another service account is not excluded.
Tags
Domain: CloudDomain: KubernetesData Source: AzureData Source: Azure Platform LogsData Source: KubernetesUse Case: Threat DetectionTactic: Credential AccessLanguage: kuery
Severity
medium
Risk Score
47
MITRE ATT&CK™

Credential Access (TA0006)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

↳ Steal Application Access Token (T1528)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

False Positive Examples
Controllers, CI/CD systems, and platform components legitimately request service account tokens. Baseline the requesting identities and exclude verified automation after review.
License
Elastic License v2(external, opens in a new tab or window)

Definition

Rule Type
Query (Kibana Query Language)
Integration Pack
Prebuilt Security Detection Rules
Index Patterns
logs-azure.platformlogs-*
Related Integrations

azure(external, opens in a new tab or window)

Query
text code block:
data_stream.dataset:azure.platformlogs and
    event.action:"Microsoft.ContainerService/managedClusters/diagnosticLogs/Read" and
    azure.platformlogs.category:("kube-audit" or "kube-audit-admin") and
    azure.platformlogs.properties.log.stage:"ResponseComplete" and
    azure.platformlogs.properties.log.objectRef.resource:"serviceaccounts" and
    azure.platformlogs.properties.log.objectRef.subresource:"token" and
    azure.platformlogs.properties.log.verb:"create" and
    azure.platformlogs.properties.log.responseStatus.code:("200" or "201") and
    not azure.platformlogs.properties.log.user.username:(
        system\:node\:* or "aksService" or "hcpService" or "readinessChecker" or
        system\:serviceaccount\:kube-system\:*
    )

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect Azure AKS Service Account Token Created via TokenRequest API 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(external, opens in a new tab or window).