Cybersecurity researchers are warning of Kubernetes security issues amid the exposure of configuration secrets.
Researchers believe that such attacks could be orchestrated using Kubernetes secrets exposed in public repositories as they allow access to the Software Development Life Cycle.
It's worth mentioning that these exposed secrets are essential for managing sensitive data within an open-source environment used for container orchestration.
These secrets are stored in the application programming interface datastore without being encrypted, making them vulnerable to cyber threats in container orchestration.
Securing sensitive data in Kubernetes is essential as it has severe implications for organizations impacted if a vulnerability is exploited.
Researchers at Aqua have stated that they focused on two types of Kubernetes secrets: dockercfg and dockerconfigjson.
Container security measures for both these security measures are essential as they store credentials used for accessing external repositories.
The team of researchers used GitHub's API to identify instances where such secrets were uploaded to public repositories.
These refined protocols yielded 438 records that contained login credentials.
Out of these records, 203 contained credentials that actually led to access to the respective repositories.
It's worth mentioning that just 93 of the credentials were set by individuals, while the other 345 appeared to be computer-generated.
Provided below is a breakdown of the registries and credentials that were exposed.
It's worth noting that credentials for GCR and AWS had expiration dates rendering them useless after they had been exposed.
These secrets enable both push and pull privilege and if exploited, are likely to impact highly popular projects and cryptocurrencies.
The docker hub credentials that were discovered granted full access to the accounts.
With diverse cyber threats on the rise, adapting rise mitigation strategies for Kubernetes security is now essential for organizations worldwide.
Using expiration dates on secrets, tokens, and credentials to ensure that they don't stay usable for a period longer than what they are needed for.
Exposed Kubernetes secrets have put the organization at risk.
Researchers have, to date, identified that out of the 438 exposed credentials, 203 were actually valid.
These credentials could be used for push and pull privilege, leaking code, and executing data breaches.
This Cyber News was published on securityboulevard.com. Publication date: Wed, 06 Dec 2023 08:43:05 +0000