AWS EC2 Image Monitoring

Severity: informational
Entities: aws_account_ids, aws_arns, aws_instance_ids, aws_tags, domain_names, ip_addresses, trace_ids, usernames
Log types: AWS.CloudTrail
Tags: ec2
Reference: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/service-authorization/latest/reference/list_amazonec2imagebuilder.html#amazonec2imagebuilder-actions-as-permissions
Source: github.com/panther-labs/panther-analysis

Checks CloudTrail for occurrences of EC2 Image Actions.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Execution	`T1204` User Execution

Rules detecting the same action

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

AWS EC2 Export Task (Elastic)

Rule body yaml

AnalysisType: rule
Description: Checks CloudTrail for occurrences of EC2 Image Actions.
DisplayName: "AWS EC2 Image Monitoring"
Enabled: true
Filename: aws_ec2_monitoring.py
Reports:
  MITRE ATT&CK:
    - TA0002:T1204
Runbook: Verify that the action was not taken by a malicious actor.
Reference: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/service-authorization/latest/reference/list_amazonec2imagebuilder.html#amazonec2imagebuilder-actions-as-permissions
Severity: Info
Tags:
  - ec2
Tests:
  - ExpectedResult: true
    Log:
      awsRegion: us-east-1
      eventCategory: Management
      eventID: 0ea3f05a-066c-43f9-8869-393ba67e7936
      eventName: CreateImage
      eventSource: ec2.amazonaws.com
      eventTime: "2022-09-29 22:25:17"
      eventType: AwsApiCall
      eventVersion: "1.08"
      managementEvent: true
      p_any_aws_account_ids:
        - "123456789101"
      p_any_aws_arns:
        - arn:aws:iam::123456789101:role/DevAdministrator
        - arn:aws:sts::123456789101:assumed-role/DevAdministrator/test_user
      p_any_aws_instance_ids:
        - i-0381a3817f72a949d
      p_any_domain_names:
        - AWS Internal
      p_any_trace_ids:
        - ASIA5PZQZ5QHE2FUNXHR
      p_event_time: "2022-09-29 22:25:17"
      p_log_type: AWS.CloudTrail
      p_parse_time: "2022-09-29 22:27:25.748"
      p_row_id: 66011977ec1fd0cf9dacf7d913f08d06
      p_source_id: 125a8146-e3ea-454b-aed7-9e08e735b670
      p_source_label: CloudTrail Logs
      readOnly: false
      recipientAccountId: "123456789101"
      requestID: e686939a-a08a-4fd6-abf5-9ea34793cf25
      requestParameters:
        blockDeviceMapping:
          items:
            - deviceName: /dev/xvda
              ebs:
                deleteOnTermination: true
                volumeSize: 8
        instanceId: i-0381a3817f72a949d
        name: testimage
        noReboot: false
      responseElements:
        imageId: ami-06aaf5e4b77161786
        requestId: e686939a-a08a-4fd6-abf5-9ea34793cf25
      sessionCredentialFromConsole: true
      sourceIPAddress: AWS Internal
      userAgent: AWS Internal
      userIdentity:
        accessKeyId: ASIA5PZQZ5QHE2FUNXHR
        accountId: "123456789101"
        arn: arn:aws:sts::123456789101:assumed-role/DevAdministrator/test_user
        principalId: AROA5PZQZ5QHBULW27VAC:test_user
        sessionContext:
          attributes:
            creationDate: "2022-09-29T22:22:46Z"
            mfaAuthenticated: "true"
          sessionIssuer:
            accountId: "123456789101"
            arn: arn:aws:iam::123456789101:role/DevAdministrator
            principalId: AROA5PZQZ5QHBULW27VAC
            type: Role
            userName: DevAdministrator
          webIdFederationData: {}
        type: AssumedRole
    Name: CopyImage
  - ExpectedResult: false
    Log:
      awsRegion: us-east-1
      eventCategory: Management
      eventID: 015c585b-cbc2-4f9e-9c52-a2f22f3c09f4
      eventName: RunInstances
      eventSource: ec2.amazonaws.com
      eventTime: "2022-10-20 14:16:43"
      eventType: AwsApiCall
      eventVersion: "1.08"
      managementEvent: true
      p_any_aws_account_ids:
        - "123123123123"
      p_any_aws_arns:
        - arn:aws:iam::123123123123:role/DevAdministrator
        - arn:aws:sts::123123123123:assumed-role/DevAdministrator/temp_user
      p_any_aws_instance_ids:
        - i-0d7e4b9be8a0de6ea
      p_any_aws_tags:
        - Name:test2
      p_any_domain_names:
        - AWS Internal
        - ip-111.111.111.111.ec2.internal
      p_any_ip_addresses:
        - 111.111.111.111
      p_any_trace_ids:
        - ASIA5PZQZ5QHAW6RFPO5
      p_any_usernames:
        - DevAdministrator
      p_event_time: "2022-10-20 14:16:43"
      p_log_type: AWS.CloudTrail
      p_parse_time: "2022-10-20 14:21:06.845"
      p_row_id: be7b3bed9bb891e4a8b9f38d149909
      p_source_id: 125a8146-e3ea-454b-aed7-9e08e735b670
      p_source_label: Panther Identity Org CloudTrail
      readOnly: false
      recipientAccountId: "123123123123"
      requestID: 25c95576-a825-44fd-971d-5a52c1e3b2be
      requestParameters:
        blockDeviceMapping: {}
        disableApiStop: false
        disableApiTermination: false
        ebsOptimized: false
        instanceType: t1.micro
        instancesSet:
          items:
            - imageId: ami-026b57f3c383c2eec
              keyName: kp1
              maxCount: 1
              minCount: 1
        monitoring:
          enabled: false
        networkInterfaceSet:
          items:
            - associatePublicIpAddress: true
              deviceIndex: 0
              groupSet:
                items:
                  - groupId: sg-0aebfa21f302bded9
        privateDnsNameOptions:
          enableResourceNameDnsAAAARecord: false
          enableResourceNameDnsARecord: true
          hostnameType: ip-name
        tagSpecificationSet:
          items:
            - resourceType: instance
              tags:
                - key: Name
                  value: test2
      responseElements:
        groupSet: {}
        instancesSet:
          items:
            - amiLaunchIndex: 0
              architecture: x86_64
              blockDeviceMapping: {}
              capacityReservationSpecification:
                capacityReservationPreference: open
              cpuOptions:
                coreCount: 1
                threadsPerCore: 1
              currentInstanceBootMode: bios
              ebsOptimized: false
              enaSupport: true
              enclaveOptions:
                enabled: false
              groupSet:
                items:
                  - groupId: sg-0aebfa21f302bded9
                    groupName: launch-wizard-4
              hypervisor: xen
              imageId: ami-026b57f3c383c2eec
              instanceId: i-0d7e4b9be8a0de6ea
              instanceState:
                code: 0
                name: pending
              instanceType: t1.micro
              keyName: kp1
              launchTime: 1.666275403e+12
              maintenanceOptions:
                autoRecovery: default
              metadataOptions:
                httpEndpoint: enabled
                httpProtocolIpv4: enabled
                httpProtocolIpv6: disabled
                httpPutResponseHopLimit: 1
                httpTokens: optional
                instanceMetadataTags: disabled
                state: pending
              monitoring:
                state: disabled
              networkInterfaceSet:
                items:
                  - attachment:
                      attachTime: 1.666275403e+12
                      attachmentId: eni-attach-0f01abecb268392c1
                      deleteOnTermination: true
                      deviceIndex: 0
                      networkCardIndex: 0
                      status: attaching
                    groupSet:
                      items:
                        - groupId: sg-0aebfa21f302bded9
                          groupName: launch-wizard-4
                    interfaceType: interface
                    ipv6AddressesSet: {}
                    macAddress: 0a:47:b4:21:fe:8d
                    networkInterfaceId: eni-08b298299ee7c922c
                    ownerId: "123123123123"
                    privateDnsName: ip-111.111.111.111.ec2.internal
                    privateIpAddress: 111.111.111.111
                    privateIpAddressesSet:
                      item:
                        - primary: true
                          privateDnsName: ip-111.111.111.111.ec2.internal
                          privateIpAddress: 111.111.111.111
                    sourceDestCheck: true
                    status: in-use
                    subnetId: subnet-0ae6d533cb0b18193
                    tagSet: {}
                    vpcId: vpc-0f59e8f1222b0de6a
              placement:
                availabilityZone: us-east-1a
                tenancy: default
              privateDnsName: ip-111.111.111.111.ec2.internal
              privateDnsNameOptions:
                enableResourceNameDnsAAAARecord: false
                enableResourceNameDnsARecord: true
                hostnameType: ip-name
              privateIpAddress: 111.111.111.111
              productCodes: {}
              rootDeviceName: /dev/xvda
              rootDeviceType: ebs
              sourceDestCheck: true
              stateReason:
                code: pending
                message: pending
              subnetId: subnet-0ae6d533cb0b18193
              tagSet:
                items:
                  - key: Name
                    value: test2
              virtualizationType: hvm
              vpcId: vpc-0f59e8f1222b0de6a
        ownerId: "123123123123"
        requestId: 25c95576-a825-44fd-971d-5a52c1e3b2be
        reservationId: r-02debcf2c4878bc7f
      sessionCredentialFromConsole: true
      sourceIPAddress: AWS Internal
      userAgent: AWS Internal
      userIdentity:
        accessKeyId: ASIA5PZQZ5QHAW6RFPO5
        accountId: "123123123123"
        arn: arn:aws:sts::123123123123:assumed-role/DevAdministrator/temp_user
        principalId: AROA5PZQZ5QHBULW27VAC:temp_user
        sessionContext:
          attributes:
            creationDate: "2022-10-20T14:14:22Z"
            mfaAuthenticated: "true"
          sessionIssuer:
            accountId: "123123123123"
            arn: arn:aws:iam::123123123123:role/DevAdministrator
            principalId: AROA5PZQZ5QHBULW27VAC
            type: Role
            userName: DevAdministrator
          webIdFederationData: {}
        type: AssumedRole
    Name: RunInstance
  - ExpectedResult: false
    Log:
      awsRegion: us-west-2
      errorCode: Client.DryRunOperation
      errorMessage: Request would have succeeded, but DryRun flag is set.
      eventCategory: Management
      eventID: ab804e72-7237-49c6-8f20-c3ef09859e78
      eventName: RunInstances
      eventSource: ec2.amazonaws.com
      eventTime: "2022-10-13 16:35:33"
      eventType: AwsApiCall
      eventVersion: "1.08"
      managementEvent: true
      p_any_aws_account_ids:
        - "123123123123"
      p_any_aws_arns:
        - arn:aws:iam::123123123123:role/aws-service-role/eks-nodegroup.amazonaws.com/AWSServiceRoleForAmazonEKSNodegroup
        - arn:aws:sts::123123123123:assumed-role/AWSServiceRoleForAmazonEKSNodegroup/EKS
      p_any_domain_names:
        - eks-nodegroup.amazonaws.com
      p_any_usernames:
        - AWSServiceRoleForAmazonEKSNodegroup
      p_event_time: "2022-10-13 16:35:33"
      p_log_type: AWS.CloudTrail
      p_parse_time: "2022-10-13 16:42:16.583"
      p_row_id: 464736612772b0bd8dd8c5fc1384d209
      p_source_id: 125a8146-e3ea-454b-aed7-9e08e735b670
      p_source_label: Panther Identity Org CloudTrail
      readOnly: false
      recipientAccountId: "123123123123"
      requestID: 5e7636b9-d5b5-4bb1-8e37-f98ae7c04e52
      requestParameters:
        availabilityZone: us-west-2b
        blockDeviceMapping: {}
        clientToken: 27bec563-7673-4b80-8e00-3537e3b7ad6b
        disableApiStop: false
        disableApiTermination: false
        instanceType: m5.xlarge
        instancesSet:
          items:
            - maxCount: 1
              minCount: 1
        launchTemplate:
          launchTemplateId: lt-0622a7ff26539376a
          version: "4"
        monitoring:
          enabled: false
        subnetId: subnet-0d465e7cad854a993
      sourceIPAddress: eks-nodegroup.amazonaws.com
      userAgent: eks-nodegroup.amazonaws.com
      userIdentity:
        accountId: "123123123123"
        arn: arn:aws:sts::123123123123:assumed-role/AWSServiceRoleForAmazonEKSNodegroup/EKS
        invokedBy: eks-nodegroup.amazonaws.com
        principalId: AROAZBD2CNPWD5DHZ366F:EKS
        sessionContext:
          attributes:
            creationDate: "2022-10-13T16:35:31Z"
            mfaAuthenticated: "false"
          sessionIssuer:
            accountId: "123123123123"
            arn: arn:aws:iam::123123123123:role/aws-service-role/eks-nodegroup.amazonaws.com/AWSServiceRoleForAmazonEKSNodegroup
            principalId: AROAZBD2CNPWD5DHZ366F
            type: Role
            userName: AWSServiceRoleForAmazonEKSNodegroup
          webIdFederationData: {}
        type: AssumedRole
    Name: "RunInstance - Dry Run "
  - ExpectedResult: true
    Log:
      awsRegion: us-east-1
      eventCategory: Management
      eventID: 0ea3f05a-066c-43f9-8869-393ba67e7936
      eventName: CreateImage
      eventSource: ec2.amazonaws.com
      eventTime: "2022-09-29 22:25:17"
      eventType: AwsApiCall
      eventVersion: "1.08"
      managementEvent: true
      readOnly: false
      recipientAccountId: "123456789101"
      requestID: e686939a-a08a-4fd6-abf5-ffffffffffff
      requestParameters:
        blockDeviceMapping:
          items:
            - deviceName: /dev/xvda
              ebs:
                deleteOnTermination: true
                volumeSize: 8
        instanceId: i-0381a3817f72a949d
        name: testimage
        noReboot: false
      responseElements:
        imageId: ami-06aaf5e4b77161786
        requestId: e686939a-a08a-4fd6-abf5-9ea34793cf25
      sessionCredentialFromConsole: true
      sourceIPAddress: AWS Internal
      userAgent: AWS Internal
      userIdentity:
        accessKeyId: ASIA5PZQZ5QHE2FUNXHR
        accountId: "123456789101"
        arn: arn:aws:sts::123456789101:assumed-role/DevAdministrator/test_user
        principalId: AROA5PZQZ5QHBULW27VAC:test_user
        invokedBy: null
        sessionContext:
          attributes:
            creationDate: "2022-09-29T22:22:46Z"
            mfaAuthenticated: "true"
          sessionIssuer:
            accountId: "123456789101"
            arn: arn:aws:iam::123456789101:role/DevAdministrator
            principalId: AROA5PZQZ5QHBULW27VAC
            type: Role
            userName: DevAdministrator
          webIdFederationData: {}
        type: AssumedRole
    Name: CopyImage - UserIdentity Null
DedupPeriodMinutes: 60
LogTypes:
  - AWS.CloudTrail
RuleID: "AWS.EC2.Monitoring"
Threshold: 1

Detection logic

Condition

eventSource eq "ec2.amazonaws.com"
not (sourceIPAddress ends_with ".amazonaws.com" or userIdentity.type eq "AWSService" or userIdentity.invokedBy eq "AWS Internal" or userIdentity.invokedBy ends_with ".amazonaws.com")
errorCode ne "Client.DryRunOperation"
eventName in ["CopyFpgaImage", "CopyImage", "CreateFpgaImage", "CreateImage", "CreateRestoreImageTask", "CreateStoreImageTask", "ImportImage"]

Exclusions

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

Field	Kind	Excluded values
`sourceIPAddress`	ends_with	`.amazonaws.com`
`userIdentity.invokedBy`	ends_with	`.amazonaws.com`
`userIdentity.invokedBy`	eq	`AWS Internal`
`userIdentity.type`	eq	`AWSService`

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
`errorCode`	ne	`Client.DryRunOperation`
`eventName`	in	`CopyFpgaImage` `CopyImage` `CreateFpgaImage` `CreateImage` `CreateRestoreImageTask` `CreateStoreImageTask` `ImportImage`
`eventSource`	eq	`ec2.amazonaws.com`

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
`userName`	`userIdentity.sessionContext.sessionIssuer.userName`
`eventName`
`recipientAccountId`

`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)