GSP496

Overview

This lab demonstrates some of the security concerns of a default GKE cluster configuration and the corresponding hardening measures to prevent multiple paths of pod escape and cluster privilege escalation. These attack paths are relevant in the following scenarios:

1. An application flaw in an external facing pod that allows for Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) attacks.
2. A fully compromised container inside a pod allowing for Remote Command Execution (RCE).
3. A malicious internal user or an attacker with a set of compromised internal user credentials with the ability to create/update a pod in a given namespace.

This lab was created by GKE Helmsman engineers to help you grasp a better understanding of hardening default GKE cluster configurations.

*The example code for this lab is provided as-is without warranty or guarantee*

Objectives

Upon completion of this lab you will understand the need for protecting the GKE Instance Metadata and defining appropriate PodSecurityPolicy policies for your environment.

You will:

1. Create a small GKE cluster using the default settings.

2. Validate the most common paths of pod escape and cluster privilege escalation from the perspective of a malicious internal user.

3. Harden the GKE cluster for these issues.

4. Validate the cluster no longer allows for each of those actions to occur.