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Event: passwd_usage

Quick Explanation

The passwd_usage recipe identifies the use of password management commands within the CI/CD pipeline, signaling potential credential access attempts through OS credential dumping. Although these commands are generally used for legitimate administrative tasks, they can be exploited by malicious actors to escalate privileges or manipulate user accounts. If not addressed, such activities could lead to unauthorized access, data breaches, and compromise of interconnected systems.

More Information

Information

  1. Description: Passwd related command usage
  2. Category: Credential Access
  3. Method: OS Credential Dumping
  4. Importance: Medium

Analysis of the Event

The detection event identified the use of commands related to password management, such as passwd, chpasswd, usermod, and others within the CI/CD pipeline. This detection falls under the category of credential access and employs the method of OS credential dumping, indicating an attempt to access or modify system credentials.

Using the MITRE ATT&CK framework, this event aligns with techniques used by adversaries to gain unauthorized access to credentials stored on a system. The commands listed are typically used for legitimate administrative purposes but can also be exploited by malicious actors to escalate privileges or pivot within a network.

The presence of these commands in a CI/CD pipeline could signify an attempt to manipulate user accounts or elevate privileges during the build or deployment process. This is particularly concerning as it suggests that recent changes in the pull request might include code that attempts to perform unauthorized actions on user accounts.

Implications for the CI/CD Pipeline

If these detected activities are not addressed, there is a risk that malicious code could be merged into the main branch and deployed into production environments. This could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive systems, data breaches, and potential compromise of other interconnected systems within your infrastructure. The integrity and security of both your CI environment and production environment would be at significant risk if such vulnerabilities are not mitigated promptly.

  1. Review Code Changes: Carefully examine all recent changes in the pull request for any suspicious code related to user account management or credential handling.
  2. Audit Dependencies: Ensure that no new dependencies introduced by this pull request have known vulnerabilities or contain malicious code.
  3. Implement Additional Checks: Add automated checks within your CI/CD pipeline to flag any use of sensitive commands like those detected.
  4. Conduct Security Testing: Perform thorough security testing on your staging environment before merging any changes into production.
  5. Enhance Monitoring: Increase monitoring for unusual activities related to user account modifications across your environments.

By following these steps, you can mitigate risks associated with this detection and maintain a secure development lifecycle.