The SCARLETEEL campaign, identified in early 2023, is a sophisticated cloud attack series targeting AWS-hosted Kubernetes environments. The attackers behind this campaign use legitimate penetration testing tools, including Pacu, to exploit misconfigured AWS environments. This campaign demonstrates how powerful pentesting tools can be leveraged maliciously in the hands of adversaries, highlighting the growing risks within cloud infrastructures.
Attack Overview
The SCARLETEEL campaign typically begins with the exploitation of misconfigured AWS policies or compromised credentials, which are used to escalate privileges within the AWS environment. Attackers then install and run Pacu, an AWS exploitation framework, to identify vulnerabilities and move laterally across the network. Pacu's capabilities allow the attackers to:
Enumerate permissions and escalate privileges within AWS accounts.
Disable CloudTrail and GuardDuty, effectively disrupting logging and monitoring, which helps avoid detection.
Exploit Kubernetes clusters hosted on AWS using another tool called Peirates, extending the scope of the attack to deploy malware such as cryptominers​
Once attackers gain access to AWS accounts, they focus on cryptomining and data exfiltration by leveraging vulnerable Kubernetes infrastructure. This highlights a growing threat in cloud environments, where legitimate pentesting tools designed to find and fix vulnerabilities are being abused for illicit purposes​
Learn More: Strengthen Your AWS Security Skills
For cybersecurity professionals interested in understanding and defending against such attacks, deep knowledge of AWS security practices and pentesting is critical. The Live Workshop on AWS Pentesting offers an excellent opportunity to expand your skill set. This workshop covers essential techniques for pen-testing AWS instances, S3 buckets, and authentication mechanisms, helping attendees understand how to exploit and secure AWS environments.
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