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Scenario #273
Security
Kubernetes v1.24, GKE
Broken Container Escape Detection
A malicious container escaped to host level due to an unpatched kernel, but went undetected due to insufficient monitoring.
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What Happened
A CVE affecting cgroups allowed container breakout. The attacker executed host-level commands and pivoted laterally across nodes.
Diagnosis Steps
- 1Investigated suspicious node-level activity.
- 2Detected unexpected binaries and processes running as root.
- 3Correlated with pod logs that had access to /proc.
Root Cause
Outdated host kernel + lack of runtime monitoring.
Fix/Workaround
• Patched all nodes to a secure kernel version.
• Implemented Falco to monitor syscall anomalies.Lessons Learned
Container escape is rare but possible—plan for it.
How to Avoid
- 1Patch host OS regularly.
- 2Deploy tools like Falco or Sysdig for anomaly detection.