Skip to content

Attack Vectors Analysis

This document analyzes potential attack vectors against the Secure CINC Auditor Kubernetes Container Scanning solution, with a focus on their likelihood, impact, and implemented mitigations.

Unauthorized Access to Container Contents

Description

This attack vector involves unauthorized users gaining access to container contents, potentially exposing sensitive data, configurations, or intellectual property.

Attack Paths

  1. Compromised Service Account: Attacker obtains a service account token with container access permissions
  2. RBAC Misconfiguration: Overly permissive RBAC roles grant unnecessary access
  3. Authentication Bypass: Exploitation of authentication mechanisms to gain unauthorized access
  4. Token Theft: Interception or exfiltration of valid access tokens

Mitigations

Mitigation Implementation Effectiveness
Least Privilege RBAC Service accounts with minimal permissions High
Time-limited Tokens Tokens expire after 15-30 minutes High
Namespace Isolation RBAC roles limited to specific namespaces Medium-High
Resource Name Constraints Access limited to specific pods High
Audit Logging Comprehensive logging of all access attempts Medium

Approach-Specific Considerations

Scanning Approach Attack Vector Exposure Additional Mitigations
Kubernetes API Low Standard API access controls
Debug Container Medium Ephemeral container lifecycle management
Sidecar Container Medium-High Process namespace restrictions, security contexts

Privilege Escalation

Description

This attack vector involves attackers gaining higher privileges than intended, potentially allowing them to modify resources, access sensitive data, or compromise the cluster.

Attack Paths

  1. Container Escape: Breaking out of container boundaries to access host or other containers
  2. Permission Escalation: Leveraging permissions to gain additional access
  3. Capability Abuse: Exploiting container capabilities to perform privileged operations
  4. Vulnerable Components: Exploiting vulnerabilities in scanner or Kubernetes components

Mitigations

Mitigation Implementation Effectiveness
Non-privileged Execution Scanner runs as non-root user High
Minimal Capabilities Containers run with minimal Linux capabilities High
Read-only Filesystem Scanner uses read-only root filesystem Medium-High
Security Contexts Strict security contexts for all containers High
No Host Mounts Containers have no access to host filesystem High

Approach-Specific Considerations

Scanning Approach Attack Vector Exposure Additional Mitigations
Kubernetes API Low Standard container boundaries maintained
Debug Container Medium Limited debug container capabilities
Sidecar Container Medium-High Process isolation controls, additional security contexts

Information Disclosure

Description

This attack vector involves unauthorized access to sensitive information, such as container contents, scanning results, or security findings.

Attack Paths

  1. Result Interception: Capturing scan results during transmission
  2. Log Analysis: Extracting sensitive information from logs
  3. Token Extraction: Obtaining service account tokens from exposed locations
  4. Scanning Process Analysis: Analyzing scanner behavior to infer container contents

Mitigations

Mitigation Implementation Effectiveness
TLS Communication All API communication encrypted High
Secure Result Handling Proper encryption and access controls for results Medium-High
Minimal Logging Limited sensitive data in logs Medium
Token Security Secure handling of service account tokens High
Network Policies Restricted communication between components Medium-High

Approach-Specific Considerations

Scanning Approach Attack Vector Exposure Additional Mitigations
Kubernetes API Low Standard API security controls
Debug Container Medium Ephemeral container network isolation
Sidecar Container Medium Pod-level network policies

Denial of Service

Description

This attack vector involves disrupting scanning operations or targeting container workloads through resource exhaustion or service interruption.

Attack Paths

  1. Resource Exhaustion: Consuming excessive CPU, memory, or I/O resources
  2. Long-running Scans: Initiating many concurrent or long-running scans
  3. API Flooding: Overwhelming the Kubernetes API server with requests
  4. Scanner Process Disruption: Interfering with scanner processes

Mitigations

Mitigation Implementation Effectiveness
Resource Limits CPU and memory limits on scanner containers High
Rate Limiting Limiting scan frequency and concurrency Medium-High
Timeouts Automatic termination of long-running scans Medium
Graceful Failure Handling Proper error handling for disrupted scans Medium
Dedicated Namespaces Isolation of scanner resources Medium-High

Approach-Specific Considerations

Scanning Approach Attack Vector Exposure Additional Mitigations
Kubernetes API Low API request throttling
Debug Container Medium Ephemeral container resource constraints
Sidecar Container Medium Pod-level resource quotas

MITRE ATT&CK Mapping

The scanning approaches help mitigate several container-related attack techniques from the MITRE ATT&CK framework:

ATT&CK Technique Description Mitigations
T1610 - Deploy Container Attackers deploy malicious containers Strong RBAC prevents unauthorized container deployment
T1613 - Container Discovery Discovery of container environment Limited visibility to container resources
T1543.005 - Container Service Creating persistent container services Prevents modification of container configurations
T1552 - Unsecured Credentials Discovering credentials in containers Short-lived tokens prevent credential theft
T1611 - Container Escape Breaking out of container isolation Minimal privileges and container hardening

Attack Surface Comparison

When comparing the attack surface of each scanning approach:

Attack Surface Factor Kubernetes API Approach Debug Container Approach Sidecar Container Approach
Number of Components 🟢 Minimal 🟠 Moderate 🟠 Moderate
Added Container Processes 🟢 None 🟠 Temporary 🔴 Permanent
Required Permissions 🟢 Minimal 🟠 Moderate 🟠 Moderate
Network Interfaces 🟢 Standard API only 🟢 Standard API only 🟢 Standard API only
Duration of Exposure 🟢 Scan duration only 🟠 Scan duration plus setup 🔴 Pod lifetime