Kubernetes Secrets Modified or Deleted

Status: test
Severity: medium
Log source: product kubernetes, service audit
Author: kelnage
Source: github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma

Detects when Kubernetes Secrets are Modified or Deleted.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Credential Access	No specific technique

Event coverage

Provider	Event	Title
Kubernetes-secrets	create-secrets	create secrets
Kubernetes-secrets	update-secrets	update secrets
Kubernetes-secrets	patch-secrets	patch secrets
Kubernetes-secrets	delete-secrets	delete secrets

Rules detecting the same action

Other rules on this platform that filter on the same API call or operation.

Kubernetes Secret or ConfigMap Access via Azure Arc Proxy (Elastic)

Rule body yaml

title: Kubernetes Secrets Modified or Deleted
id: 58d31a75-a4f8-4c40-985b-373d58162ca2
related:
    - id: 2f0bae2d-bf20-4465-be86-1311addebaa3
      type: similar
status: test
description: |
    Detects when Kubernetes Secrets are Modified or Deleted.
references:
    - https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/config-api/apiserver-audit.v1/
    - https://commandk.dev/blog/guide-to-audit-k8s-secrets-for-compliance/
author: kelnage
date: 2024-07-11
tags:
    - attack.credential-access
logsource:
    product: kubernetes
    service: audit
detection:
    selection:
        objectRef.resource: 'secrets'
        verb:
            - 'create'
            - 'delete'
            - 'patch'
            - 'replace'
            - 'update'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Secrets being modified or deleted may be performed by a system administrator.
    - Automated processes may need to take these actions and may need to be filtered.
level: medium

Stages and Predicates

Stage 0: `condition`

selection

Stage 1: `selection`

selection:
    objectRef.resource: 'secrets'
    verb:
        - 'create'
        - 'delete'
        - 'patch'
        - 'replace'
        - 'update'

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
`objectRef.resource`	eq	`secrets`
`verb`	eq	`create` `delete` `patch` `replace` `update`

`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)

Kubernetes Secrets Modified or Deleted

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Event coverage

Rules detecting the same action

Rule body yaml

Stages and Predicates

Stage 0: `condition`

Stage 1: `selection`

Indicators

Keyboard shortcuts

Search operators

Kubernetes Secrets Modified or Deleted

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Event coverage

Rules detecting the same action

Rule body yaml

Stages and Predicates

Stage 0: condition

Stage 1: selection

Indicators

Stage 0: `condition`

Stage 1: `selection`