T1021.008: Direct Cloud VM Connections

View on MITRE ATT&CK	T1021.008
Tactic(s)	Lateral Movement

Data from MITRE ATT&CK®:

Adversaries may leverage Valid Accounts to log directly into accessible cloud hosted compute infrastructure through cloud native methods. Many cloud providers offer interactive connections to virtual infrastructure that can be accessed through the Cloud API, such as Azure Serial Console(Citation: Azure Serial Console), AWS EC2 Instance Connect(Citation: EC2 Instance Connect)(Citation: lucr-3: Getting SaaS-y in the cloud), and AWS System Manager.(Citation: AWS System Manager).

Methods of authentication for these connections can include passwords, application access tokens, or SSH keys. These cloud native methods may, by default, allow for privileged access on the host with SYSTEM or root level access.

Adversaries may utilize these cloud native methods to directly access virtual infrastructure and pivot through an environment.(Citation: SIM Swapping and Abuse of the Microsoft Azure Serial Console) These connections typically provide direct console access to the VM rather than the execution of scripts (i.e., Cloud Administration Command).

Cyber Threat Graph Context

Explore how this ATT&CK Technique relates to the wider threat graph

Mitigations for this technique

MITRE ATT&CK Mitigations

User Account Management

Manage the creation, modification, use, and permissions associated to user accounts.

Disable or Remove Feature or Program

Remove or deny access to unnecessary and potentially vulnerable software to prevent abuse by adversaries.

How to detect this technique

MITRE ATT&CK Data Components

Logon Session Creation (Logon Session)

Initial construction of a successful new user logon following an authentication attempt. (e.g. Windows EID 4624, /var/log/utmp, or /var/log/wmtp)