Elastic Security Detection Rules

Kubectl Configuration Discovery

Last updated a month ago on 2025-10-17
Created 5 months ago on 2025-06-19

About

This rule detects the execution of kubectl commands that are commonly used for configuration discovery in Kubernetes environments. It looks for process events where kubectl is executed with arguments that query configuration information, such as configmaps. In environments where kubectl is not expected to be used, this could indicate potential reconnaissance activity by an adversary.
Tags
Domain: ContainerDomain: EndpointDomain: KubernetesOS: LinuxUse Case: Threat DetectionTactic: DiscoveryRule Type: BBRData Source: Elastic DefendData Source: Elastic EndgameData Source: Auditd ManagerData Source: CrowdstrikeLanguage: 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.*endgame-*auditbeat-*logs-auditd_manager.auditd-*logs-crowdstrike.fdr*
Related Integrations

endpoint(opens in a new tab or window)

auditd_manager(opens in a new tab or window)

crowdstrike(opens in a new tab or window)

Query
process where host.os.type == "linux" and event.type == "start" and
event.action in ("exec", "exec_event", "executed", "process_started", "ProcessRollup2") and
process.name == "kubectl" and process.args in ("get", "describe") and process.args in ("configmap", "configmaps")

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect Kubectl Configuration 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).