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AWS ECS Task Definition That Queries The Credential Endpoint

Detects when an Elastic Container Service (ECS) Task Definition includes a command to query the credential endpoint. This can indicate a potential adversary adding a backdoor to establish persistence or escalate privileges.

MITRE ATT&CK

T1525

persistence

Detection Query

selection:
  eventSource: ecs.amazonaws.com
  eventName:
    - DescribeTaskDefinition
    - RegisterTaskDefinition
    - RunTask
  requestParameters.containerDefinitions.command|contains: $AWS_CONTAINER_CREDENTIALS_RELATIVE_URI
condition: selection

Author

Darin Smith

Created

2022-06-07

Data Sources

awscloudtrail

Platforms

aws

References

Tags

attack.persistenceattack.t1525

Raw Content

title: AWS ECS Task Definition That Queries The Credential Endpoint
id: b94bf91e-c2bf-4047-9c43-c6810f43baad
status: test
description: |
    Detects when an Elastic Container Service (ECS) Task Definition includes a command to query the credential endpoint.
    This can indicate a potential adversary adding a backdoor to establish persistence or escalate privileges.
references:
    - https://github.com/RhinoSecurityLabs/pacu/blob/866376cd711666c775bbfcde0524c817f2c5b181/pacu/modules/ecs__backdoor_task_def/main.py
    - https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECS/latest/APIReference/API_RegisterTaskDefinition.html
    - https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECS/latest/developerguide/task-iam-roles.html
author: Darin Smith
date: 2022-06-07
modified: 2023-04-24
tags:
    - attack.persistence
    - attack.t1525
logsource:
    product: aws
    service: cloudtrail
detection:
    selection:
        eventSource: 'ecs.amazonaws.com'
        eventName:
            - 'DescribeTaskDefinition'
            - 'RegisterTaskDefinition'
            - 'RunTask'
        requestParameters.containerDefinitions.command|contains: '$AWS_CONTAINER_CREDENTIALS_RELATIVE_URI'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Task Definition being modified to request credentials from the Task Metadata Service for valid reasons
level: medium