Create or Modify System Process: Container Service
- ID
- T1543.005
- Tactics
- TA0003 Persistence, TA0004 Privilege Escalation
- Sub-technique of
- T1543 Create or Modify System Process
- Platforms
- Containers
- Data sources
- Process Creation, Container Creation, Pod Creation, Service Creation
- Source
- attack.mitre.org
- MITRE last modified
- 16 Apr 2025
Adversaries may create or modify container or container cluster management tools that run as daemons, agents, or services on individual hosts. These include software for creating and managing individual containers, such as Docker and Podman, as well as container cluster node-level agents such as kubelet. By modifying these services, an adversary may be able to achieve persistence or escalate their privileges on a host.
For example, by using the docker run or podman run command with the restart=always directive, a container can be configured to persistently restart on the host.[1] A user with access to the (rootful) docker command may also be able to escalate their privileges on the host.[2]
In Kubernetes environments, DaemonSets allow an adversary to persistently Deploy Containers on all nodes, including ones added later to the cluster.[3][4] Pods can also be deployed to specific nodes using the nodeSelector or nodeName fields in the pod spec.[5][6]
Note that containers can also be configured to run as Systemd Services.[7][8]
Detection
- DET0473 Detect persistent or elevated container services via container runtime or cluster manipulation
Data components: Process Creation, Container Creation, Pod Creation, Service Creation
Mitigations (2)
- M1018 User Account Management
Limit access to utilities such as docker to only users who have a legitimate need, especially if using docker in rootful mode. In Kubernetes environments, only grant privileges to deploy pods to users that require it.
- M1054 Software Configuration
Where possible, consider enforcing the use of container services in rootless mode to limit the possibility of privilege escalation or malicious effects on the host running the container.