Kubernetes Secret get or list from Node or Pod Service Account

Last updated 11 days ago on 2026-04-22

Created 11 days ago on 2026-04-22

About

Kubernetes audit identities for kubelet (`system:node:*`) and workloads (`system:serviceaccount:*`) are meant to operate with tight, predictable API usage. Direct `get` or `list` on the Secrets API from those principals is often a sign of credential access. Attackers who stole a pod service-account token or node credentials sweep Secret objects for tokens, registry credentials, TLS keys, or application configuration. Even denied attempts still reveal intent to reach sensitive material. Legitimate controllers do read secrets they mount or manage, so this signal is most valuable when paired with triage (namespace scope, user agent, RBAC, and whether the identity should touch those secret names at all).

Tags

Data Source: KubernetesDomain: KubernetesUse Case: Threat DetectionTactic: Credential AccessLanguage: kuery

Severity

medium

Risk Score

MITRE ATT&CK™

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

↳ Unsecured Credentials (T1552)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

False Positive Examples

In-cluster operators, CSI drivers, GitOps agents, and some platform controllers legitimately list or get Secrets in namespaces they manage; exclude known service accounts, namespaces, or user agents after baselining. Rare kubelet or node maintenance tooling may touch Secret APIs; validate against change windows and approved node management paths.

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-kubernetes.audit_logs-*
Related Integrations: kubernetes(external, opens in a new tab or window)
Query

✄𐘗text code block:
✄𐘗data_stream.dataset:"kubernetes.audit_logs" and
event.action:(get or list) and
kubernetes.audit.objectRef.resource:"secrets" and
user.name:(system\:serviceaccount\:* or system\:node\:*) and source.ip:*

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect Kubernetes Secret get or list from Node or Pod Service Account 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).