CyberStack

MITRE ATT&CK / Techniques / T1610

Deploy Container

ID
T1610
Tactics
TA0002 Execution
Platforms
Containers
Data sources
Application Log Content, Container Start, Process Creation, Network Traffic Content
Source
attack.mitre.org
MITRE last modified
12 May 2026

Adversaries may deploy a container into an environment to facilitate execution or evade defenses. In some cases, adversaries may deploy a new container to execute processes associated with a particular image or deployment, such as processes that execute or download malware. In others, an adversary may deploy a new container configured without network rules, user limitations, etc. to bypass existing defenses within the environment. In Kubernetes environments, an adversary may attempt to deploy a privileged or vulnerable container into a specific node in order to Escape to Host and access other containers running on the node. [7]

Containers can be deployed by various means, such as via Docker's create and start APIs or via a web application such as the Kubernetes dashboard or Kubeflow. [8][9][10] In Kubernetes environments, containers may be deployed through workloads such as ReplicaSets or DaemonSets, which can allow containers to be deployed across multiple nodes.[11] Adversaries may deploy containers based on retrieved or built malicious images or from benign images that download and execute malicious payloads at runtime.[12]

Detection

Mitigations (4)

M1018 User Account Management

Enforce the principle of least privilege by limiting container dashboard access to only the necessary users. When using Kubernetes, avoid giving users wildcard permissions or adding users to the system:masters group, and use RoleBindings rather than ClusterRoleBindings to limit user privileges to specific namespaces.[1]

M1030 Network Segmentation

Deny direct remote access to internal systems through the use of network proxies, gateways, and firewalls.

M1035 Limit Access to Resource Over Network

Limit communications with the container service to managed and secured channels, such as local Unix sockets or remote access via SSH. Require secure port access to communicate with the APIs over TLS by disabling unauthenticated access to the Docker API, Kubernetes API Server, and container orchestration web applications.[2][3] In Kubernetes clusters deployed in cloud environments, use native cloud platform features to restrict the IP ranges that are permitted to access to API server.[4] Where possible, consider enabling just-in-time (JIT) access to the Kubernetes API to place additional restrictions on access.[5]

M1047 Audit

Scan images before deployment, and block those that are not in compliance with security policies. In Kubernetes environments, the admission controller can be used to validate images after a container deployment request is authenticated but before the container is deployed.[6]

Groups (3)

Software (4)

References

  1. Kubernetes RBAC
  2. Docker Daemon Socket Protect
  3. Kubernetes API Control Access
  4. Kubernetes Cloud Native Security
  5. Microsoft AKS Azure AD 2023
  6. Kubernetes Hardening Guide
  7. AppSecco Kubernetes Namespace Breakout 2020
  8. Docker Container
  9. Kubernetes Dashboard
  10. Kubeflow Pipelines
  11. Kubernetes Workload Management
  12. Aqua Build Images on Hosts