AWSCloudTrail - Creation of CRUD DynamoDB policy and then privilege escalation

Status: available
Severity: medium
Time window: 1d
Group by: AccountName, AccountUPNSuffix, EventName, EventSource, PolicyName, RecipientAccountId, SourceIpAddress, UserIdentityArn, UserIdentityType
Source: github.com/Azure/Azure-Sentinel

Identifies creation of IAM policies that provide broad CRUD permissions for DynamoDB, followed by policy attachment activity. This sequence can indicate an attempt to grant capabilities that support privilege escalation and should be validated against approved administrative changes.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Persistence	`T1098.003` Account Manipulation: Additional Cloud Roles
Privilege Escalation	`T1098.003` Account Manipulation: Additional Cloud Roles, `T1484` Domain or Tenant Policy Modification

Rules detecting the same action

Other rules on this platform that filter on the same API call or operation.

Rule body kusto

id: 6f675c17-7a61-440c-abd1-c73ef4d748ec
name: AWSCloudTrail - Creation of CRUD DynamoDB policy and then privilege escalation
description: |
  Identifies creation of IAM policies that provide broad CRUD permissions for DynamoDB, followed by policy attachment activity. This sequence can indicate an attempt to grant capabilities that support
  privilege escalation and should be validated against approved administrative changes.
severity: Medium
status: Available
requiredDataConnectors:
  - connectorId: AWS
    dataTypes:
      - AWSCloudTrail
queryFrequency: 1d
queryPeriod: 1d
triggerOperator: gt
triggerThreshold: 0
tactics:
  - DefenseEvasion
  - PrivilegeEscalation
  - Persistence
relevantTechniques:
  - T1484
  - T1098.003
query: |
  let EventNameList = dynamic(["AttachUserPolicy","AttachRolePolicy","AttachGroupPolicy"]);
  let createPolicy =  dynamic(["CreatePolicy", "CreatePolicyVersion"]);
  let timeframe = 1d;
  let lookback = 14d;
  // Creating Master table with all the events to use with materialize for better performance
  let EventInfo = AWSCloudTrail
  | where TimeGenerated >= ago(lookback)
  | where EventName in (EventNameList) or EventName in (createPolicy)
  | extend UserIdentityArn = iif(isempty(UserIdentityArn), tostring(parse_json(Resources)[0].ARN), UserIdentityArn)
  | extend UserName = tostring(split(UserIdentityArn, '/')[-1])
  | extend AccountName = case( UserIdentityPrincipalid == "Anonymous", "Anonymous", isempty(UserIdentityUserName), UserName, UserIdentityUserName)
  | extend AccountName = iif(AccountName contains "@", tostring(split(AccountName, '@', 0)[0]), AccountName),
    AccountUPNSuffix = iif(AccountName contains "@", tostring(split(AccountName, '@', 1)[0]), "");
  //Checking for Policy creation event with Full Admin Privileges since lookback period.
  let FullAdminPolicyEvents =  materialize(  EventInfo
  | where TimeGenerated >= ago(lookback)
  | where EventName in (createPolicy)
  | extend PolicyName = tostring(parse_json(RequestParameters).policyName)
  | extend Statement = parse_json(tostring((parse_json(RequestParameters).policyDocument))).Statement
  | mvexpand Statement
  | extend Action = parse_json(Statement).Action , Effect = tostring(parse_json(Statement).Effect), Resource = tostring(parse_json(Statement).Resource), Condition = tostring(parse_json(Statement).Condition)
  | extend Action = tostring(Action)
  | where Effect =~ "Allow" and ((Action contains "dynamodb:Create" or Action contains "dynamodb:Put") and (Action contains "dynamodb:Describe" or Action contains "dynamodb:Get" or Action contains "dynamodb:Scan")  and Action contains "dynamodb:Update" and Action contains "dynamodb:Delete") and Resource == "*" and Condition == ""
  | distinct TimeGenerated, EventName, PolicyName, SourceIpAddress, RecipientAccountId, AccountName, AccountUPNSuffix, UserIdentityArn
  | project-rename StartTime = TimeGenerated  );
  let PolicyAttach = materialize(  EventInfo
  | where TimeGenerated >= ago(timeframe)
  | where EventName in (EventNameList) and isempty(ErrorCode) and isempty(ErrorMessage)
  | extend PolicyName = tostring(split(tostring(parse_json(RequestParameters).policyArn),"/")[1])
  | summarize AttachEventCount=count(), StartTime = min(TimeGenerated), EndTime = max(TimeGenerated) by EventSource, EventName,   UserIdentityType , RecipientAccountId, AccountName, AccountUPNSuffix, UserIdentityArn, SourceIpAddress, PolicyName
  | extend AttachEvent = pack("StartTime", StartTime, "EndTime", EndTime, "EventName", EventName, "UserIdentityType",   UserIdentityType, "SourceIpAddress", SourceIpAddress, "AccountName", AccountName, "AccountUPNSuffix", AccountUPNSuffix, "RecipientAccountId", RecipientAccountId, "UserIdentityArn", UserIdentityArn)
  | project EventSource, PolicyName, AttachEvent, AttachEventCount, RecipientAccountId, AccountName, AccountUPNSuffix
  );
  // Joining the list of PolicyNames and checking if it has been attached to any Roles/Users/Groups.
  // These Roles/Users/Groups will be Privileged and can be used by adversaries as pivot point for privilege escalation via multiple ways.
  FullAdminPolicyEvents
  | join kind=leftouter
  (
      PolicyAttach
  )
  on PolicyName
  | project-away PolicyName1
entityMappings:
  - entityType: Account
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: Name
        columnName: AccountName
      - identifier: UPNSuffix
        columnName: AccountUPNSuffix
      - identifier: CloudAppAccountId
        columnName: RecipientAccountId
  - entityType: IP
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: Address
        columnName: SourceIpAddress
customDetails:
  PolicyName: PolicyName
  EventName: EventName
  RecipientAccountId: RecipientAccountId
  UserIdentityArn: UserIdentityArn
alertDetailsOverride:
  alertDisplayNameFormat: 'AWS DynamoDB privilege escalation policy activity: {{PolicyName}} by {{AccountName}}'
  alertDescriptionFormat: 'Detected {{EventName}} for policy {{PolicyName}} from {{SourceIpAddress}}.'
version: 1.0.3
kind: Scheduled

Stages and Predicates

Parameters

let EventNameList = dynamic(["AttachUserPolicy","AttachRolePolicy","AttachGroupPolicy"]);
let createPolicy = dynamic(["CreatePolicy", "CreatePolicyVersion"]);
let timeframe = 1d;
let lookback = 14d;

Let binding: `PolicyAttach`

let PolicyAttach = materialize(  EventInfo
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(timeframe)
| where EventName in (EventNameList) and isempty(ErrorCode) and isempty(ErrorMessage)
| extend PolicyName = tostring(split(tostring(parse_json(RequestParameters).policyArn),"/")[1])
| summarize AttachEventCount=count(), StartTime = min(TimeGenerated), EndTime = max(TimeGenerated) by EventSource, EventName,   UserIdentityType , RecipientAccountId, AccountName, AccountUPNSuffix, UserIdentityArn, SourceIpAddress, PolicyName
| extend AttachEvent = pack("StartTime", StartTime, "EndTime", EndTime, "EventName", EventName, "UserIdentityType",   UserIdentityType, "SourceIpAddress", SourceIpAddress, "AccountName", AccountName, "AccountUPNSuffix", AccountUPNSuffix, "RecipientAccountId", RecipientAccountId, "UserIdentityArn", UserIdentityArn)
| project EventSource, PolicyName, AttachEvent, AttachEventCount, RecipientAccountId, AccountName, AccountUPNSuffix
);

Derived from EventNameList, timeframe, EventInfo.

Stage 1: `source`

EventInfo

Stage 2: `where`

where ...

Stage 3: `where`

where EventName in~ ("CreatePolicy", "CreatePolicyVersion")

Stage 4: `extend`

extend PolicyName

Stage 5: `extend`

extend Statement

Stage 6: `mv-expand`

mv-expand Statement

Stage 7: `extend`

extend Action, Condition, Effect, Resource

Stage 8: `extend`

extend Action

Stage 9: `where`

where (Action contains "dynamodb:Create" or Action contains "dynamodb:Put") and (Action contains "dynamodb:Describe" or Action contains "dynamodb:Get" or Action contains "dynamodb:Scan") and Action contains "dynamodb:Delete" and Action contains "dynamodb:Update" and Condition =~ "" and Effect =~ "Allow" and Resource == "*"

Stage 10: `distinct`

distinct AccountName, AccountUPNSuffix, EventName, PolicyName, RecipientAccountId, SourceIpAddress, TimeGenerated, UserIdentityArn

Stage 11: `project-rename`

project-rename

Stage 12: `join`

join kind=leftouter (...)

Stage 13: `project-away`

project-away PolicyName1

Stage 14: `summarize`

summarize by EventSource, EventName, UserIdentityType, RecipientAccountId, AccountName, AccountUPNSuffix, UserIdentityArn, SourceIpAddress, PolicyName

Indicators

Each row is a field, operator, and value that the rule matches. The corpus column counts how many other rules in the catalog look for the same combination: high numbers point to widely-used, community-vetted indicators. Blank or 1 shows that the indicator is specific to this rule.

Field	Kind	Values
`Action`	contains	`dynamodb:Create` `dynamodb:Delete` `dynamodb:Describe` `dynamodb:Get` `dynamodb:Put` `dynamodb:Scan` `dynamodb:Update`
`Effect`	eq	`Allow`
`ErrorCode`	is_null	(no value, null check)
`ErrorMessage`	is_null	(no value, null check)
`EventName`	in	`AttachGroupPolicy` transforms: `cased` `AttachRolePolicy` transforms: `cased` `AttachUserPolicy` transforms: `cased` `CreatePolicy` transforms: `cased` `CreatePolicyVersion` transforms: `cased`
`Resource`	eq	`*` transforms: `cased`

Output fields

Fields the rule emits when it matches. Chronicle authors list these in the outcome block; they appear on the detection and $risk_score drives alerting. Sentinel / Defender XDR rules build them up through project / summarize / extend stages. Sentinel maps these into alert fields via entityMappings and customDetails; Defender XDR custom detections surface them as alert fields directly.

Field	Source
`AccountName`	`summarize`
`AccountUPNSuffix`	`summarize`
`EventName`	`summarize`
`EventSource`	`summarize`
`PolicyName`	`summarize`
`RecipientAccountId`	`summarize`
`SourceIpAddress`	`summarize`
`UserIdentityArn`	`summarize`
`UserIdentityType`	`summarize`

`j` / `k`	Scroll down / up
`d` / `u`	Half-page down / up
`gg` / `G`	Top / bottom
`h` / `l`	History back / forward
`f`	Follow link (`Shift` = new tab)
`/`	Focus search
`?`	Toggle this help
`↑` / `↓`	Navigate search results
`Enter`	Open highlighted result
`Esc`	Close results / dialog

`type:`	`events` / `rules` / `providers`
`vendor:`	`sigma` / `elastic` / `splunk` / `kusto` / `chronicle` (vendor name alone also works: `sigma:`, `kql:`, `secops:`…)
`tactic:`	TA-id, slug, or name: `credential_access`, `TA0006`
`technique:`	technique or sub-technique ID: `T1003`, `T1003.001` (alias `tech:`)
`severity:`	`critical` / `high` / `medium` / `low` / `informational` (alias `sev:`)
`risk_score`	Numeric comparison on the Elastic risk score (0 to 100): `risk_score>50`, `risk_score<=20`, `risk_score=99` (alias `risk`; Elastic rules only)
`stages:`	Rules with exactly N pipeline stages
`correlation:`	`single_event` / `sequence` / `alternatives` / `alternatives_cross_log` / `all_required` / `correlated`
`with:`	Co-occurrence event-id; stacks (`with:4624 with:4769`) to require all, while a comma list in one occurrence (`with:4624,4769`) is an either-or group. Implies multi-event
`like:`	Structural neighbors of a rule slug (equivalents + subsumption stricter / broader): `like:comsvcs_lsass_memory_dump-splunk-sysmon`
`groupby:`	Entity-grouping substring match against `group_by_keys`: `groupby:user`, `groupby:host`
`uses:`	Rules whose predicate tree touches the field (any kind, any value): `uses:CommandLine`
`excludes:`	Rules with top-level `not()` clauses on the field (FP whitelists): `excludes:ParentImage`
`field:` / `value:`	Predicate search; narrows rule cards to those with a matching leaf and drives the indicator tier. Unquoted = substring, wildcards allowed (`value:mimikatz`)
`indicator:`	Shorthand for `field:F value:V`: `indicator:Image=*\powershell.exe`
`kind:`	Filter by predicate kind. Narrows rule cards to those carrying a matching predicate leaf (`vendor:elastic kind:cidr_match`) and drives the indicator tier: `contains` / `starts_with` / `ends_with` / `regex` / `cidr` / `eq` / `in` … (operator aliases `op:`/`match:`)
`has:` / `no:`	`sample`, `field`, `notes`, `refs`, `trace`, `thirdparty`, `rule`, `pattern`, `timewindow`, `threshold`, `newterms`, `sigma`/`elastic`/`splunk`/`kusto`/`chronicle`
`-op:val`	Exclude matches; works on most operators but not `type:`/`like:`/`has:`/`no:` (use `no:<flag>` to exclude a rule flag): `tactic:execution -vendor:splunk`. Standalone `-kind:`/`-field:`/`-value:` drop every rule carrying a matching predicate leaf (`type:rules -kind:is_null`)
`field:"…"` / `value:"…"`	Quoted value = anchored exact match (also allows spaces): `value:"net user"`
`a,b`	Comma = OR inside one operator (`vendor:sigma,elastic`, `severity:high,critical`); repeating a facet merges the same way. `field:`/`value:` never split (literal commas)
`vendors:` / `stage:`	Singular and plural spellings fold to the canonical operator and value: `tactics:` = `tactic:`, `type:event` = `type:events`, `correlation:sequences` = `correlation:sequence`, `has:thresholds` = `has:threshold`
`"quoted phrase"`	Exact-match a multi-word phrase (free text)

AWSCloudTrail - Creation of CRUD DynamoDB policy and then privilege escalation

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Rules detecting the same action

Rule body kusto

Stages and Predicates

Parameters

Let binding: `PolicyAttach`

Stage 1: `source`

Stage 2: `where`

Stage 3: `where`

Stage 4: `extend`

Stage 5: `extend`

Stage 6: `mv-expand`

Stage 7: `extend`

Stage 8: `extend`

Stage 9: `where`

Stage 10: `distinct`

Stage 11: `project-rename`

Stage 12: `join`

Stage 13: `project-away`

Stage 14: `summarize`

Indicators

Output fields

Keyboard shortcuts

Search operators

AWSCloudTrail - Creation of CRUD DynamoDB policy and then privilege escalation

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Rules detecting the same action

Rule body kusto

Stages and Predicates

Parameters

Let binding: PolicyAttach

Stage 1: source

Stage 2: where

Stage 3: where

Stage 4: extend

Stage 5: extend

Stage 6: mv-expand

Stage 7: extend

Stage 8: extend

Stage 9: where

Stage 10: distinct

Stage 11: project-rename

Stage 12: join

Stage 13: project-away

Stage 14: summarize

Indicators

Output fields

Let binding: `PolicyAttach`

Stage 1: `source`

Stage 2: `where`

Stage 3: `where`

Stage 4: `extend`

Stage 5: `extend`

Stage 6: `mv-expand`

Stage 7: `extend`

Stage 8: `extend`

Stage 9: `where`

Stage 10: `distinct`

Stage 11: `project-rename`

Stage 12: `join`

Stage 13: `project-away`

Stage 14: `summarize`