Sigma rule: Kubernetes CronJob/Job Modification

Rule

Title

Kubernetes CronJob/Job Modification

Status

test

Level

medium

Author

kelnage

Date

2024-07-11

File

rules/application/kubernetes/audit/kubernetes_audit_cronjob_modification.yml

Commit

ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects when a Kubernetes CronJob or Job is created or modified.
A Kubernetes Job creates one or more pods to accomplish a specific task, and a CronJob creates Jobs on a recurring schedule.
An adversary can take advantage of this Kubernetes object to schedule Jobs to run containers that execute malicious code within a cluster, allowing them to achieve persistence.

Log source

product

kubernetes

service

audit

Detection

selection:
    objectRef.apiGroup: 'batch'
    objectRef.resource:
        - 'cronjobs'
        - 'jobs'
    verb:
        - 'create'
        - 'delete'
        - 'patch'
        - 'replace'
        - 'update'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

• Modifying a Kubernetes Job or CronJob may need to be done by a system administrator.
• Automated processes may need to take these actions and may need to be filtered.

Tags

• attack.persistence
• attack.privilege-escalation
• attack.execution

Related rules

• cd3a808c-c7b7-4c50-a2f3-f4cfcd436435 (similar)

References

• https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/config-api/apiserver-audit.v1/
• https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/protecting-kubernetes-against-mitre-attck-persistence#technique-33-kubernetes-cronjob

Read on 2026-11-03T00:58:21.399Z under licence sigma-drl-1.1@d5f4c36a from https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/application/kubernetes/audit/kubernetes_audit_cronjob_modification.yml