Cloud-Specific SSRF Risks

Cloud platforms significantly amplify SSRF risks through their metadata services. These services, accessible via special IP addresses like 169.254.169.254, provide instances with credentials, configuration data, and other sensitive information. They're designed for legitimate use by applications needing cloud API access, but SSRF vulnerabilities turn them into treasure troves for attackers.

Beyond credential theft, SSRF in cloud environments can enumerate internal services, access private cloud resources, or pivot to other systems. Kubernetes environments face similar risks through their metadata APIs. Attackers can map internal networks, discover services, and potentially access databases or other resources that assume requests from within the network are trustworthy. The dynamic nature of cloud infrastructure, where services constantly scale and IP addresses change, makes traditional IP-based filtering less effective.