Detect Access to Cloud Instance Metadata API (IaaS)

ID: DET0001
Domains: Enterprise
Analytics: AN0001
Version: 1.0
Created: 21 October 2025
Last Modified: 21 October 2025

Analytics

AN0001

Detects access attempts to cloud instance metadata endpoints (e.g., 169.254.169.254) from virtual machines or containerized workloads. This includes both direct access and SSRF exploitation patterns.

Log Sources
Data Component Name Channel
Network Connection Creation (DC0082) AWS:VPCFlowLogs Outbound connection to 169.254.169.254 from EC2 workload
Cloud Service Metadata (DC0070) CloudTrail:GetInstanceIdentityDocument GetInstanceIdentityDocument
Network Traffic Content (DC0085) ebpf:syscalls Process within container accesses link-local address 169.254.169.254
Mutable Elements
Field Description
TimeWindow Adjust temporal window for correlation of access attempts and SSRF triggers
UserContext Tune based on expected roles that access metadata APIs (e.g., root, service accounts)
RequestHeaderMatch Customize detection for HTTP Host headers indicating SSRF