AWS DNS Logs Deleted

Severity: informational
Compliance: Stratus Red Team aws.defense-evasion.dns-delete-logs
Log types: AWS.CloudTrail
Tags: AWS, Cloudtrail, Defense Evasion, Impair Defenses, Disable or Modify Cloud Logs, Defense Evasion:Impair Defenses, Security Control
Reference: https://stratus-red-team.cloud/attack-techniques/AWS/aws.defense-evasion.dns-delete-logs/
Source: github.com/panther-labs/panther-analysis

Detects when logs for a DNS Resolver have been removed.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Stealth	`T1562.008` Impair Defenses: Disable or Modify Cloud Logs

Rule body yaml

AnalysisType: rule
Filename: aws_dns_logs_deleted.py
RuleID: "AWS.CloudTrail.DNSLogsDeleted"
DisplayName: "AWS DNS Logs Deleted"
Enabled: true
LogTypes:
  - AWS.CloudTrail
Severity: Info
Reports:
  MITRE ATT&CK:
    - TA0005:T1562.008 # Defense Evasion: Disable or Modify Cloud Logs

  Stratus Red Team:
    - aws.defense-evasion.dns-delete-logs
Description: "Detects when logs for a DNS Resolver have been removed."
Reference: 
  https://stratus-red-team.cloud/attack-techniques/AWS/aws.defense-evasion.dns-delete-logs/
Runbook: Determine if the log removal to is legitimate.
Tags:
  - AWS
  - Cloudtrail
  - Defense Evasion
  - Impair Defenses
  - Disable or Modify Cloud Logs
  - Defense Evasion:Impair Defenses
  - Security Control
Tests:
  - Name: Logs Deleted
    ExpectedResult: true
    Log:
      {
        "p_event_time": "2024-11-27 18:18:58.000000000",
        "p_log_type": "AWS.CloudTrail",
        "p_parse_time": "2024-11-27 18:25:54.213480847",
        "awsRegion": "us-west-2",
        "eventCategory": "Management",
        "eventID": "27e6be30-7c86-4544-b0e0-a60b0c927887",
        "eventName": "DeleteResolverQueryLogConfig",
        "eventSource": "route53resolver.amazonaws.com",
        "eventTime": "2024-11-27 18:18:58.000000000",
        "eventType": "AwsApiCall",
        "eventVersion": "1.08",
        "managementEvent": true,
        "readOnly": false,
        "recipientAccountId": "111122223333",
        "requestID": "a45a0f04-8911-4c95-a9d7-3fead8a9bc45",
        "requestParameters": {
          "originSequenceNumber": 0,
          "resolverQueryLogConfigId": "rqlc-5aa596fe3bd84ec6"
        },
        "responseElements": {
          "resolverQueryLogConfig": {
            "arn": "arn:aws:route53resolver:us-west-2:111122223333:resolver-query-log-config/rqlc-5aa596fe3bd84ec6",
            "associationCount": 0,
            "creationTime": "2024-11-27T18:18:56.881520365Z",
            "creatorRequestId": "tf-r53-resolver-query-log-config-20241127181856499800000001",
            "destinationArn": "arn:aws:s3:::sample-bucket-name",
            "id": "rqlc-5aa596fe3bd84ec6",
            "name": "sample-config-name",
            "ownerId": "111122223333",
            "shareStatus": "NOT_SHARED",
            "status": "DELETING"
          }
        },
        "sourceIPAddress": "1.2.3.4",
        "tlsDetails": {
          "cipherSuite": "TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256",
          "clientProvidedHostHeader": "route53resolver.us-west-2.amazonaws.com",
          "tlsVersion": "TLSv1.3"
        },
        "userAgent": "stratus-red-team_dbac929e-ae11-4539-8753-35dbcbbc3256",
        "userIdentity": {
          "accessKeyId": "SAMPLE_ACCESS_KEY",
          "accountId": "111122223333",
          "arn": "arn:aws:sts::111122223333:assumed-role/SampleRole/leroy.jenkins",
          "principalId": "SAMPLE_PRINCIPAL_ID:leroy.jenkins",
          "sessionContext": {
            "attributes": {
              "creationDate": "2024-11-27T18:17:21Z",
              "mfaAuthenticated": "false"
            },
            "sessionIssuer": {
              "accountId": "111122223333",
              "arn": "arn:aws:iam::111122223333:role/aws-reserved/sso.amazonaws.com/us-west-2/SampleRole",
              "principalId": "SAMPLE_PRINCIPAL_ID",
              "type": "Role",
              "userName": "SampleRole"
            },
            "webIdFederationData": {}
          },
          "type": "AssumedRole"
        }
      }

Detection logic

Condition

not (errorCode is_not_null or errorMessage is_not_null)
eventName eq "DeleteResolverQueryLogConfig"

Exclusions

Top-level NOT(...) conjuncts: predicates this rule actively suppresses.

Field	Kind	Excluded values
`errorCode`	is_not_null	(no value, null check)
`errorMessage`	is_not_null	(no value, null check)

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
`eventName`	eq	`DeleteResolverQueryLogConfig`

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
`accountId`	`userIdentity.accountId`
`awsRegion`

`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)