eBPF Security
Cloud SecurityDefinition
The application of Extended Berkeley Packet Filter technology for runtime security observability, syscall-level threat detection, and network policy enforcement in Linux kernel and cloud-native environments.
Technical Details
eBPF allows sandboxed programs to run in the Linux kernel in response to events, enabling deep observability without kernel modifications. Security tools (Falco, Cilium, Tetragon) use eBPF to monitor process execution, network flows, and syscalls in real time for anomalous behavior. As a dual-use technology, eBPF can also be exploited by attackers who gain kernel-level access to create rootkit-like capabilities or bypass security controls.
Practical Usage
Cloud-native security teams deploy eBPF-based runtime security tools (Cilium for CNI + network policy, Tetragon for process and file monitoring) to achieve kernel-level observability across container workloads. Security architects must also consider eBPF as an attack vector and restrict which workloads can load eBPF programs.
Examples
- Cilium uses eBPF to enforce network policies between Kubernetes pods at the kernel level without iptables overhead.
- Tetragon detects and blocks a container escape attempt by monitoring privileged syscalls via eBPF probes.
- An attacker with root access deploys a malicious eBPF program to intercept SSH credentials from the kernel.