EKS Audit Log Reporting system Namespace is Used From A Public IP

Severity: informational
Entities: aws_account_ids, aws_arns, ip_addresses, usernames
Log types: Amazon.EKS.Audit
Tags: EKS, Initial Access, Lateral Movement, Exploit Public-Facing Application, Remote Services, Cloud Services
Reference: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/eks/latest/userguide/network_reqs.html
Source: github.com/panther-labs/panther-analysis

This detection identifies if an activity is recorded in the Kubernetes audit log where the user:username attribute begins with "system:" or "eks:" and the requests originating IP Address is a Public IP Address

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Initial Access	`T1190` Exploit Public-Facing Application
Lateral Movement	`T1021.007` Remote Services: Cloud Services

Rule body yaml

AnalysisType: rule
Filename: system_namespace_public_ip.py
RuleID: "Amazon.EKS.Audit.SystemNamespaceFromPublicIP"
DisplayName: "EKS Audit Log Reporting system Namespace is Used From A Public IP"
Enabled: true
LogTypes:
  - Amazon.EKS.Audit
Tags:
  - EKS
  - Initial Access
  - Lateral Movement
  - "Exploit Public-Facing Application"
  - Remote Services
  - Cloud Services
Reports:
  MITRE ATT&CK:
    - "TA0001:T1190" # Initial Access: Exploit Public-Facing Application
    - "TA0008:T1201.007" # Lateral Movement: Remote Services: Cloud Services
Reference: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/eks/latest/userguide/network_reqs.html
Severity: Info
CreateAlert: false
Description: >
  This detection identifies if an activity is recorded in the Kubernetes audit log where
  the user:username attribute begins with "system:" or "eks:" and the requests originating
  IP Address is a Public IP Address
DedupPeriodMinutes: 1440 # 24 hours
Threshold: 1
SummaryAttributes:
  - user:username
  - p_source_label
Tests:
  - Name: non-system username
    ExpectedResult: false
    Log:
      {
        "annotations":
          {
            "authorization.k8s.io/decision": "allow",
            "authorization.k8s.io/reason": "",
          },
        "apiVersion": "audit.k8s.io/v1",
        "auditID": "35506555-dffc-4337-b2b1-c4af52b88e18",
        "kind": "Event",
        "level": "Request",
        "objectRef":
          {
            "apiVersion": "v1",
            "name": "kube-bench-drn4j",
            "namespace": "default",
            "resource": "pods",
            "subresource": "log",
          },
        "p_any_aws_account_ids": ["123412341234"],
        "p_any_aws_arns":
          [
            "arn:aws:iam::123412341234:role/DevAdministrator",
            "arn:aws:sts::123412341234:assumed-role/DevAdministrator/1669660343296132000",
          ],
        "p_any_ip_addresses": ["5.5.5.5"],
        "p_any_usernames": ["kubernetes-admin"],
        "p_event_time": "2022-11-29 00:09:04.38",
        "p_log_type": "Amazon.EKS.Audit",
        "p_parse_time": "2022-11-29 00:10:25.067",
        "p_row_id": "2e4ab474b0f0f7a4a8fff4f014a9b32a",
        "p_source_id": "4c859cd4-9406-469b-9e0e-c2dc1bee24fa",
        "p_source_label": "example-cluster-eks-logs",
        "requestReceivedTimestamp": "2022-11-29 00:09:04.38",
        "requestURI": "/api/v1/namespaces/default/pods/kube-bench-drn4j/log?container=kube-bench",
        "responseStatus": { "code": 200 },
        "sourceIPs": ["5.5.5.5"],
        "stage": "ResponseStarted",
        "stageTimestamp": "2022-11-29 00:09:04.392",
        "user":
          {
            "extra":
              {
                "accessKeyId": ["ASIARLIVEKVNN6Y6J5UW"],
                "arn":
                  [
                    "arn:aws:sts::123412341234:assumed-role/DevAdministrator/1669660343296132000",
                  ],
                "canonicalArn":
                  ["arn:aws:iam::123412341234:role/DevAdministrator"],
                "sessionName": ["1669660343296132000"],
              },
            "groups": ["system:masters", "system:authenticated"],
            "uid": "aws-iam-authenticator:123412341234:AROARLIVEKVNIRVGDLJWJ",
            "username": "kubernetes-admin",
          },
        "userAgent": "kubectl/v1.25.4 (darwin/arm64) kubernetes/872a965",
        "verb": "get",
      }
  - Name: system username - private ip
    ExpectedResult: false
    Log:
      {
        "annotations":
          {
            "authorization.k8s.io/decision": "allow",
            "authorization.k8s.io/reason": 'RBAC: allowed by ClusterRoleBinding "system:coredns" of ClusterRole "system:coredns" to ServiceAccount "coredns/kube-system"',
          },
        "apiVersion": "audit.k8s.io/v1",
        "auditID": "e2626946-90e1-4d0c-829e-ad5a78572926",
        "kind": "Event",
        "level": "Metadata",
        "objectRef":
          {
            "apiGroup": "discovery.k8s.io",
            "apiVersion": "v1",
            "resource": "endpointslices",
          },
        "p_any_ip_addresses": ["10.0.27.115"],
        "p_any_usernames": ["system:serviceaccount:kube-system:coredns"],
        "p_event_time": "2022-11-29 22:34:06.892",
        "p_log_type": "Amazon.EKS.Audit",
        "p_parse_time": "2022-11-29 22:45:25.024",
        "p_row_id": "c2a7d8dd7c858dcae0a1aaf314b2a207",
        "p_source_id": "4c859cd4-9406-469b-9e0e-c2dc1bee24fa",
        "p_source_label": "example-cluster-eks-logs",
        "requestReceivedTimestamp": "2022-11-29 22:34:06.892",
        "requestURI": "/apis/discovery.k8s.io/v1/endpointslices?allowWatchBookmarks=true&resourceVersion=2528212&timeout=5m56s&timeoutSeconds=356&watch=true",
        "responseStatus": { "code": 200 },
        "sourceIPs": ["10.0.27.115"],
        "stage": "ResponseComplete",
        "stageTimestamp": "2022-11-29 22:40:02.903",
        "user":
          {
            "extra":
              {
                "authentication_kubernetes_io_slash_pod-name":
                  ["coredns-57ff979f67-bl27n"],
                "authentication_kubernetes_io_slash_pod-uid":
                  ["5b9488ae-5563-42aa-850b-b0d82edb3e22"],
              },
            "groups":
              [
                "system:serviceaccounts",
                "system:serviceaccounts:kube-system",
                "system:authenticated",
              ],
            "uid": "5e4461f9-f529-4e66-9343-0b0cc9452284",
            "username": "system:serviceaccount:kube-system:coredns",
          },
        "userAgent": "Go-http-client/2.0",
        "verb": "watch",
      }
  - Name: 403 from Public IP zero count
    ExpectedResult: true
    Log:
      {
        "annotations":
          {
            "authorization.k8s.io/decision": "allow",
            "authorization.k8s.io/reason": 'RBAC: allowed by ClusterRoleBinding "system:coredns" of ClusterRole "system:coredns" to ServiceAccount "coredns/kube-system"',
          },
        "apiVersion": "audit.k8s.io/v1",
        "auditID": "e2626946-90e1-4d0c-829e-ad5a78572926",
        "kind": "Event",
        "level": "Metadata",
        "objectRef":
          {
            "apiGroup": "discovery.k8s.io",
            "apiVersion": "v1",
            "resource": "endpointslices",
          },
        "p_any_ip_addresses": ["5.5.5.5"],
        "p_any_usernames": ["system:serviceaccount:kube-system:coredns"],
        "p_event_time": "2022-11-29 22:34:06.892",
        "p_log_type": "Amazon.EKS.Audit",
        "p_parse_time": "2022-11-29 22:45:25.024",
        "p_row_id": "c2a7d8dd7c858dcae0a1aaf314b2a207",
        "p_source_id": "4c859cd4-9406-469b-9e0e-c2dc1bee24fa",
        "p_source_label": "example-cluster-eks-logs",
        "requestReceivedTimestamp": "2022-11-29 22:34:06.892",
        "requestURI": "/apis/discovery.k8s.io/v1/endpointslices?allowWatchBookmarks=true&resourceVersion=2528212&timeout=5m56s&timeoutSeconds=356&watch=true",
        "responseStatus": { "code": 200 },
        "sourceIPs": ["5.5.5.5"],
        "stage": "ResponseComplete",
        "stageTimestamp": "2022-11-29 22:40:02.903",
        "user":
          {
            "extra":
              {
                "authentication_kubernetes_io_slash_pod-name":
                  ["coredns-57ff979f67-bl27n"],
                "authentication_kubernetes_io_slash_pod-uid":
                  ["5b9488ae-5563-42aa-850b-b0d82edb3e22"],
              },
            "groups":
              [
                "system:serviceaccounts",
                "system:serviceaccounts:kube-system",
                "system:authenticated",
              ],
            "uid": "5e4461f9-f529-4e66-9343-0b0cc9452284",
            "username": "system:serviceaccount:kube-system:coredns",
          },
        "userAgent": "Go-http-client/2.0",
        "verb": "watch",
      }
  - Name: system username - public ip - not ResponseComplete
    ExpectedResult: false
    Log:
      {
        "annotations":
          {
            "authorization.k8s.io/decision": "allow",
            "authorization.k8s.io/reason": 'RBAC: allowed by ClusterRoleBinding "system:coredns" of ClusterRole "system:coredns" to ServiceAccount "coredns/kube-system"',
          },
        "apiVersion": "audit.k8s.io/v1",
        "auditID": "c8c5bc49-cd5d-45d6-999c-b55783c7840f",
        "kind": "Event",
        "level": "Metadata",
        "objectRef":
          {
            "apiGroup": "discovery.k8s.io",
            "apiVersion": "v1",
            "resource": "endpointslices",
          },
        "p_any_ip_addresses": ["5.5.5.5"],
        "p_any_usernames": ["system:serviceaccount:kube-system:coredns"],
        "p_event_time": "2022-11-29 22:46:37.995",
        "p_log_type": "Amazon.EKS.Audit",
        "p_parse_time": "2022-11-29 22:50:24.942",
        "p_row_id": "fa229ed1d0b18094f4a1aff3149531",
        "p_source_id": "4c859cd4-9406-469b-9e0e-c2dc1bee24fa",
        "p_source_label": "example-cluster-eks-logs",
        "requestReceivedTimestamp": "2022-11-29 22:46:37.995",
        "requestURI": "/apis/discovery.k8s.io/v1/endpointslices?allowWatchBookmarks=true&resourceVersion=2529923&timeout=6m41s&timeoutSeconds=401&watch=true",
        "responseStatus": { "code": 200 },
        "sourceIPs": ["5.5.5.5"],
        "stage": "ResponseStarted",
        "stageTimestamp": "2022-11-29 22:46:38.013",
        "user":
          {
            "extra":
              {
                "authentication_kubernetes_io_slash_pod-name":
                  ["coredns-57ff979f67-bl27n"],
                "authentication_kubernetes_io_slash_pod-uid":
                  ["5b9488ae-5563-42aa-850b-b0d82edb3e22"],
              },
            "groups":
              [
                "system:serviceaccounts",
                "system:serviceaccounts:kube-system",
                "system:authenticated",
              ],
            "uid": "5e4461f9-f529-4e66-9343-0b0cc9452284",
            "username": "system:serviceaccount:kube-system:coredns",
          },
        "userAgent": "Go-http-client/2.0",
        "verb": "watch",
      }
  - Name: system username - public ip - 403
    ExpectedResult: false
    Log:
      {
        "annotations":
          {
            "authorization.k8s.io/decision": "allow",
            "authorization.k8s.io/reason": 'RBAC: allowed by ClusterRoleBinding "system:coredns" of ClusterRole "system:coredns" to ServiceAccount "coredns/kube-system"',
          },
        "apiVersion": "audit.k8s.io/v1",
        "auditID": "c8c5bc49-cd5d-45d6-999c-b55783c7840f",
        "kind": "Event",
        "level": "Metadata",
        "objectRef":
          {
            "apiGroup": "discovery.k8s.io",
            "apiVersion": "v1",
            "resource": "endpointslices",
          },
        "p_any_ip_addresses": ["5.5.5.5"],
        "p_any_usernames": ["system:serviceaccount:kube-system:coredns"],
        "p_event_time": "2022-11-29 22:46:37.995",
        "p_log_type": "Amazon.EKS.Audit",
        "p_parse_time": "2022-11-29 22:50:24.942",
        "p_row_id": "fa229ed1d0b18094f4a1aff3149531",
        "p_source_id": "4c859cd4-9406-469b-9e0e-c2dc1bee24fa",
        "p_source_label": "example-cluster-eks-logs",
        "requestReceivedTimestamp": "2022-11-29 22:46:37.995",
        "requestURI": "/apis/discovery.k8s.io/v1/endpointslices?allowWatchBookmarks=true&resourceVersion=2529923&timeout=6m41s&timeoutSeconds=401&watch=true",
        "responseStatus": { "code": 403 },
        "sourceIPs": ["5.5.5.5"],
        "stage": "ResponseComplete",
        "stageTimestamp": "2022-11-29 22:46:38.013",
        "user":
          {
            "extra":
              {
                "authentication_kubernetes_io_slash_pod-name":
                  ["coredns-57ff979f67-bl27n"],
                "authentication_kubernetes_io_slash_pod-uid":
                  ["5b9488ae-5563-42aa-850b-b0d82edb3e22"],
              },
            "groups":
              [
                "system:serviceaccounts",
                "system:serviceaccounts:kube-system",
                "system:authenticated",
              ],
            "uid": "5e4461f9-f529-4e66-9343-0b0cc9452284",
            "username": "system:serviceaccount:kube-system:coredns",
          },
        "userAgent": "Go-http-client/2.0",
        "verb": "watch",
      }
  - Name: eks:addon-manager from public ip as lambda
    ExpectedResult: false
    Log:
      {
        "annotations":
          {
            "authorization.k8s.io/decision": "allow",
            "authorization.k8s.io/reason": 'RBAC: allowed by RoleBinding "eks:addon-manager/kube-system" of Role "eks:addon-manager" to User "eks:addon-manager"',
          },
        "apiVersion": "audit.k8s.io/v1",
        "auditID": "43410f6e-9c19-482b-b2c7-f2cde260b0e9",
        "kind": "Event",
        "level": "Request",
        "objectRef":
          {
            "apiGroup": "apps",
            "apiVersion": "v1",
            "name": "coredns",
            "namespace": "kube-system",
            "resource": "deployments",
          },
        "p_any_aws_account_ids": ["123412341234"],
        "p_any_aws_arns":
          [
            "arn:aws:iam::123412341234:role/AWSWesleyClusterManagerLambda-Add-AddonManagerRole-G332QAM69HWF",
            "arn:aws:sts::123412341234:assumed-role/AWSWesleyClusterManagerLambda-Add-AddonManagerRole-G332QAM69HWF/1669918824986835422",
          ],
        "p_any_ip_addresses": ["35.163.244.48"],
        "p_any_usernames": ["eks:addon-manager"],
        "p_event_time": "2022-12-01 18:20:25.054",
        "p_log_type": "Amazon.EKS.Audit",
        "p_parse_time": "2022-12-01 18:24:24.734",
        "p_row_id": "a22a2e182591cfb8ead2f7f7149215",
        "p_source_id": "4c859cd4-9406-469b-9e0e-c2dc1bee24fa",
        "p_source_label": "example-cluster-eks-logs",
        "requestReceivedTimestamp": "2022-12-01 18:20:25.054",
        "requestURI": "/apis/apps/v1/namespaces/kube-system/deployments/coredns?timeout=10s",
        "responseStatus": { "code": 200 },
        "sourceIPs": ["35.163.244.48"],
        "stage": "ResponseComplete",
        "stageTimestamp": "2022-12-01 18:20:25.078",
        "user":
          {
            "extra":
              {
                "accessKeyId": ["ASIAXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"],
                "arn":
                  [
                    "arn:aws:sts::123412341234:assumed-role/AWSWesleyClusterManagerLambda-Add-AddonManagerRole-G332QAM69HWF/1669918824986835422",
                  ],
                "canonicalArn":
                  [
                    "arn:aws:iam::123412341234:role/AWSWesleyClusterManagerLambda-Add-AddonManagerRole-G332QAM69HWF",
                  ],
                "sessionName": ["1669918824986835422"],
              },
            "groups": ["system:authenticated"],
            "uid": "aws-iam-authenticator:123412341234:AROATAVZDPHFJWUSNL3ZV",
            "username": "eks:addon-manager",
          },
        "userAgent": "Go-http-client/1.1",
        "verb": "get",
      }
  - Name: legitimate EKS node from AWS IP - should not alert
    ExpectedResult: false
    Log:
      {
        "annotations":
          {
            "authentication.kubernetes.io/issued-credential-id": "JTI=2e6389af-b8bc-4c26-92d2-714fbe9cb4fa",
            "authorization.k8s.io/decision": "allow",
            "authorization.k8s.io/reason": ""
          },
        "apiVersion": "audit.k8s.io/v1",
        "auditID": "e5ca89e7-8686-4b7c-b666-f8b863b6f21c",
        "kind": "Event",
        "level": "Metadata",
        "objectRef":
          {
            "apiVersion": "v1",
            "name": "kube-proxy",
            "namespace": "kube-system",
            "resource": "serviceaccounts",
            "subresource": "token"
          },
        "p_any_ip_addresses": ["54.212.83.236"],
        "p_enrichment":
          {
            "MISP Warning Lists":
              {
                "p_any_ip_addresses":
                  [
                    {
                      "cidr": "54.208.0.0/13",
                      "p_match": "54.212.83.236",
                      "warning_lists":
                        [
                          {
                            "description": "Amazon AWS IP address ranges (https://ip-ranges.amazonaws.com/ip-ranges.json)",
                            "id": "amazon-aws",
                            "name": "List of known Amazon AWS IP address ranges",
                            "version": 20250719
                          }
                        ]
                    }
                  ]
              },
            "ipinfo_asn":
              {
                "sourceIPs":
                  [
                    {
                      "asn": "AS16509",
                      "domain": "amazon.com",
                      "name": "Amazon.com, Inc.",
                      "p_match": "54.212.83.236",
                      "route": "54.212.0.0/16",
                      "type": "hosting"
                    }
                  ]
              }
          },
        "p_event_time": "2025-08-26 17:40:49.320496000",
        "p_log_type": "Amazon.EKS.Audit",
        "requestReceivedTimestamp": "2025-08-26 17:40:49.320496000",
        "requestURI": "/api/v1/namespaces/kube-system/serviceaccounts/kube-proxy/token",
        "responseStatus": { "code": 201 },
        "sourceIPs": ["54.212.83.236"],
        "stage": "ResponseComplete",
        "stageTimestamp": "2025-08-26 17:40:49.330617000",
        "user":
          {
            "groups": ["system:nodes", "system:authenticated"],
            "username": "system:node:ip-192-168-3-178.us-west-2.compute.internal"
          },
        "userAgent": "kubelet/v1.32.0 (linux/arm64) kubernetes/e105b10",
        "verb": "create"
      }
  - Name: system user from non-AWS public IP - should alert
    ExpectedResult: true
    Log:
      {
        "annotations":
          {
            "authorization.k8s.io/decision": "allow",
            "authorization.k8s.io/reason": ""
          },
        "apiVersion": "audit.k8s.io/v1",
        "auditID": "e2626946-90e1-4d0c-829e-ad5a78572926",
        "kind": "Event",
        "level": "Metadata",
        "objectRef":
          {
            "apiVersion": "v1",
            "name": "kube-proxy",
            "namespace": "kube-system",
            "resource": "serviceaccounts",
            "subresource": "token"
          },
        "p_any_ip_addresses": ["1.2.3.4"],
        "p_enrichment":
          {
            "ipinfo_asn":
              {
                "sourceIPs":
                  [
                    {
                      "asn": "AS12345",
                      "domain": "example-isp.com",
                      "name": "Example ISP",
                      "p_match": "1.2.3.4",
                      "route": "1.2.3.0/24",
                      "type": "isp"
                    }
                  ]
              }
          },
        "p_event_time": "2025-08-26 17:40:49.320496000",
        "p_log_type": "Amazon.EKS.Audit",
        "requestReceivedTimestamp": "2025-08-26 17:40:49.320496000",
        "requestURI": "/api/v1/namespaces/kube-system/serviceaccounts/kube-proxy/token",
        "responseStatus": { "code": 201 },
        "sourceIPs": ["1.2.3.4"],
        "stage": "ResponseComplete",
        "stageTimestamp": "2025-08-26 17:40:49.330617000",
        "user":
          {
            "groups": ["system:nodes", "system:authenticated"],
            "username": "system:node:suspicious-node"
          },
        "userAgent": "kubelet/v1.32.0 (linux/arm64) kubernetes/e105b10",
        "verb": "create"
      }
  - Name: attacker from non-AWS IP targeting AWS resource - should alert despite AWS target
    ExpectedResult: true
    Log:
      {
        "annotations":
          {
            "authorization.k8s.io/decision": "allow",
            "authorization.k8s.io/reason": ""
          },
        "apiVersion": "audit.k8s.io/v1",
        "auditID": "e2626946-90e1-4d0c-829e-ad5a78572926", 
        "kind": "Event",
        "level": "Metadata",
        "objectRef":
          {
            "apiVersion": "v1",
            "name": "kube-proxy",
            "namespace": "kube-system",
            "resource": "serviceaccounts",
            "subresource": "token"
          },
        "p_any_ip_addresses": ["1.2.3.4", "54.212.83.236"],
        "p_enrichment":
          {
            "MISP Warning Lists":
              {
                "p_any_ip_addresses":
                  [
                    {
                      "cidr": "54.208.0.0/13",
                      "p_match": "54.212.83.236",
                      "warning_lists":
                        [
                          {
                            "description": "Amazon AWS IP address ranges",
                            "id": "amazon-aws",
                            "name": "List of known Amazon AWS IP address ranges"
                          }
                        ]
                    }
                  ]
              },
            "ipinfo_asn":
              {
                "sourceIPs":
                  [
                    {
                      "asn": "AS12345",
                      "domain": "example-isp.com",
                      "name": "Example ISP",
                      "p_match": "1.2.3.4",
                      "route": "1.2.3.0/24",
                      "type": "isp"
                    }
                  ]
              }
          },
        "p_event_time": "2025-08-26 17:40:49.320496000",
        "p_log_type": "Amazon.EKS.Audit",
        "requestReceivedTimestamp": "2025-08-26 17:40:49.320496000",
        "requestURI": "/api/v1/namespaces/kube-system/serviceaccounts/kube-proxy/token",
        "responseStatus": { "code": 201 },
        "sourceIPs": ["1.2.3.4"],
        "stage": "ResponseComplete", 
        "stageTimestamp": "2025-08-26 17:40:49.330617000",
        "user":
          {
            "groups": ["system:nodes", "system:authenticated"],
            "username": "system:node:suspicious-node"
          },
        "userAgent": "kubelet/v1.32.0 (linux/arm64) kubernetes/e105b10",
        "verb": "create"
      }

Detection logic

Condition

stage eq "ResponseComplete"
responseStatus.code ne "403"
not (user.groups contains "system:nodes" and user.groups contains "system:authenticated")

This rule also runs imperative logic the parser cannot express as a filter; the conditions above are the structured part it could extract.

Exclusions

Top-level NOT(...) conjuncts: predicates this rule actively suppresses.

Field	Kind	Excluded values
`user.groups`	contains	`system:authenticated`
`user.groups`	contains	`system:nodes`

Indicators

Each row is a field, operator, and value that the rule matches. The corpus column counts how many other rules in the catalog look for the same combination: high numbers point to widely-used, community-vetted indicators. Blank or 1 shows that the indicator is specific to this rule.

Field	Kind	Values
`responseStatus.code`	ne	`403`
`stage`	eq	`ResponseComplete`

`j` / `k`	Scroll down / up
`d` / `u`	Half-page down / up
`gg` / `G`	Top / bottom
`h` / `l`	History back / forward
`f`	Follow link (`Shift` = new tab)
`/`	Focus search
`?`	Toggle this help
`↑` / `↓`	Navigate search results
`Enter`	Open highlighted result
`Esc`	Close results / dialog

`type:`	`events` / `rules` / `providers`
`vendor:`	`sigma` / `elastic` / `splunk` / `kusto` / `chronicle` (vendor name alone also works: `sigma:`, `kql:`, `secops:`…)
`tactic:`	TA-id, slug, or name: `credential_access`, `TA0006`
`technique:`	technique or sub-technique ID: `T1003`, `T1003.001` (alias `tech:`)
`severity:`	`critical` / `high` / `medium` / `low` / `informational` (alias `sev:`)
`risk_score`	Numeric comparison on the Elastic risk score (0 to 100): `risk_score>50`, `risk_score<=20`, `risk_score=99` (alias `risk`; Elastic rules only)
`stages:`	Rules with exactly N pipeline stages
`correlation:`	`single_event` / `sequence` / `alternatives` / `alternatives_cross_log` / `all_required` / `correlated`
`with:`	Co-occurrence event-id; stacks (`with:4624 with:4769`) to require all, while a comma list in one occurrence (`with:4624,4769`) is an either-or group. Implies multi-event
`like:`	Structural neighbors of a rule slug (equivalents + subsumption stricter / broader): `like:comsvcs_lsass_memory_dump-splunk-sysmon`
`groupby:`	Entity-grouping substring match against `group_by_keys`: `groupby:user`, `groupby:host`
`uses:`	Rules whose predicate tree touches the field (any kind, any value): `uses:CommandLine`
`excludes:`	Rules with top-level `not()` clauses on the field (FP whitelists): `excludes:ParentImage`
`field:` / `value:`	Predicate search; narrows rule cards to those with a matching leaf and drives the indicator tier. Unquoted = substring, wildcards allowed (`value:mimikatz`)
`indicator:`	Shorthand for `field:F value:V`: `indicator:Image=*\powershell.exe`
`kind:`	Filter by predicate kind. Narrows rule cards to those carrying a matching predicate leaf (`vendor:elastic kind:cidr_match`) and drives the indicator tier: `contains` / `starts_with` / `ends_with` / `regex` / `cidr` / `eq` / `in` … (operator aliases `op:`/`match:`)
`has:` / `no:`	`sample`, `field`, `notes`, `refs`, `trace`, `thirdparty`, `rule`, `pattern`, `timewindow`, `threshold`, `newterms`, `sigma`/`elastic`/`splunk`/`kusto`/`chronicle`
`-op:val`	Exclude matches; works on most operators but not `type:`/`like:`/`has:`/`no:` (use `no:<flag>` to exclude a rule flag): `tactic:execution -vendor:splunk`. Standalone `-kind:`/`-field:`/`-value:` drop every rule carrying a matching predicate leaf (`type:rules -kind:is_null`)
`field:"…"` / `value:"…"`	Quoted value = anchored exact match (also allows spaces): `value:"net user"`
`a,b`	Comma = OR inside one operator (`vendor:sigma,elastic`, `severity:high,critical`); repeating a facet merges the same way. `field:`/`value:` never split (literal commas)
`vendors:` / `stage:`	Singular and plural spellings fold to the canonical operator and value: `tactics:` = `tactic:`, `type:event` = `type:events`, `correlation:sequences` = `correlation:sequence`, `has:thresholds` = `has:threshold`
`"quoted phrase"`	Exact-match a multi-word phrase (free text)