Sigma rule: Kubernetes Unauthorized or Unauthenticated Access

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-2b00af61fe8f, updated 2024-04-12T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Kubernetes Unauthorized or Unauthenticated Access
Status
test
Level
low
Author
kelnage
Date
2024-04-12
File
rules/application/kubernetes/audit/kubernetes_audit_unauthorized_unauthenticated_actions.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects when a request to the Kubernetes API is rejected due to lack of authorization or due to an expired authentication token being used.
This may indicate an attacker attempting to leverage credentials they have obtained.

Log source

product
kubernetes
service
audit

Detection

selection:
    responseStatus.code:
        - 401 # Unauthorized
        - 403 # Forbidden
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • A misconfigured RBAC policy, a mistake by a valid user, or a wider issue with authentication tokens can also generate these errors.

Tags

  • attack.privilege-escalation

References

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_unauthorized_unauthenticated_actions.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Kubernetes Unauthorized or Unauthenticated Access" by kelnage (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/application/kubernetes/audit/kubernetes_audit_unauthorized_unauthenticated_actions.yml.
    Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-License

    Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1

Cite this page

Dragons Eye Ransomware Tracker, "Sigma rule: Kubernetes Unauthorized or Unauthenticated Access",
entity page, dataset version ref-2b00af61fe8f, updated 2024-04-12T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/0d933542-1f1f-420d-97d4-21b2c3c492d9 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 0d933542-1f1f-420d-97d4-21b2c3c492d9, commit ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84.

Pages change. The dataset version identifies the data, but no archive of old versions is kept, so this citation cannot be replayed later.