Kubernetes Goat - Vulnerable by Design Kubernetes Cluster Environment

By Madhu Akula on 18 Sep 2020 @ C0c0n
πŸ’» Source Code πŸ“Ή Video πŸ”— Link
#kubernetes #red-teaming #cloud-workload-protection #container-security #security-testing #misconfiguration
Focus Areas: πŸ“¦ Software Supply Chain Security , πŸ” Application Security , ☁️ Cloud Security , βš™οΈ DevSecOps , 🎯 Penetration Testing , πŸ” Vulnerability Management
This talk covers following tools where the speaker has contributed or authored
KUBERNETES-GOAT

Presentation Material

AI Generated Summary

The talk addressed security risks in Kubernetes environments, focusing on misconfigurations within cluster namespaces and container image repositories. The primary research area was the identification and exploitation of common weaknesses that expose sensitive data or allow unauthorized access.

Key findings indicated that many organizations fail to properly isolate namespaces and secure their internal image registries. Attackers can exploit these gaps to access confidential information, such as secrets stored within other namespaces, or to inject malicious images into the build pipeline. The speaker detailed techniques for discovering these vulnerabilities, including scanning repository contents and analyzing cluster deployment configurations to map namespace relationships and permissions. Specific tools and commands, such as those using kubectl to enumerate resources across namespaces, were presented as methods for attackers to move laterally after initial access.

Practical implications emphasized the critical need for strict namespace segregation and robust access controls on internal image registries. Organizations should implement principle of least privilege for service accounts and regularly audit repository permissions. Security teams are advised to treat internal registries as high-value assets, applying the same scrutiny as public ones, and to monitor for anomalous access patterns across cluster namespaces. The talk concluded that securing the software supply chain requires hardening both the orchestration layer (Kubernetes namespaces) and the artifact storage layer (image repositories) to prevent data exfiltration and compromise propagation.

Disclaimer: This summary was auto-generated from the video transcript using AI and may contain inaccuracies. It is intended as a quick overview β€” always refer to the original talk for authoritative content. Learn more about our AI experiments.