Exposing Insider Threats: Open-Source Tool Uncovers CI/CD Pipeline Attacks

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Boost Security Tool Demonstrates Attack Chain Against CI/CD Pipelines

The recent TeamPCP attack on multiple open-source software projects has highlighted the vulnerabilities of continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines.

According to Zaid Al Hamami, CEO of Boost Security, “SmokedMeat demonstrates what attackers can do when they find a vulnerability in an open-source repository. They can craft an exploit payload, steal credentials, and use those credentials to pivot to other areas, inserting malware and infecting developers working on those repositories.”

A Detailed Analysis of SmokedMeat

SmokedMeat is an open-source tool developed by Boost Security that simulates attack scenarios against CI/CD infrastructure. It takes a flagged pipeline vulnerability and executes a live demonstration against a team’s own infrastructure, showcasing the potential consequences of a successful attack.

Deploying a payload
Compromising the runner
Harvesting credentials from process memory
Exchanging those credentials for cloud access
Exposing private repositories
MAPPING THE BLAST RADIUS OF THE ATTACK

The Importance of Proactive Measures

Despite Boost’s open-source scanner, Poutine, flagging vulnerabilities in Trivy’s pipeline months earlier, those findings went unpatched. The TeamPCP attack, which compromised several popular open-source packages, was particularly notable.

Al Hamami described the TeamPCP campaign as the largest cascade supply chain attack to date, highlighting the need for concrete demonstrations of potential attacks rather than just static scan results.

SmokedMeat aims to fill this gap by providing a tangible view of what exploitation looks like in a specific environment, allowing security teams and engineering leaders to better prioritize remediation efforts.

Availability and Benefits

SmokedMeat is available for free on GitHub, providing a valuable resource for organizations looking to improve their CI/CD security posture. By leveraging this tool, teams can gain a deeper understanding of the risks associated with their pipeline vulnerabilities and take proactive steps to mitigate them.