AWS IAM Policy Does Not Grant Any Administrative Access

Severity: medium
Compliance: PCI 2.2.4, 7.1.2
Tags: AWS, PCI, Security, Identity & Compliance, Privilege Escalation:Valid Accounts
Reference: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access_policies.html
Source: github.com/panther-labs/panther-analysis

This policy validates that no IAM policies grant admin access. This should be combined with suppressions on the legitimate IAM admin policies in your account so that it only fires when new and unexpected policies granting admin access are created.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Privilege Escalation	`T1078` Valid Accounts

Rule body yaml

AnalysisType: policy
Filename: aws_iam_policy_does_not_grant_admin_access.py
PolicyID: "AWS.IAM.Policy.DoesNotGrantAdminAccess"
DisplayName: "AWS IAM Policy Does Not Grant Any Administrative Access"
Enabled: true
ResourceTypes:
  - AWS.IAM.Policy
Tags:
  - AWS
  - PCI
  - Security, Identity & Compliance
  - Privilege Escalation:Valid Accounts
Reports:
  PCI:
    - 2.2.4
    - 7.1.2
  MITRE ATT&CK:
    - TA0004:T1078
Severity: Medium
Description: >
  This policy validates that no IAM policies grant admin access. This should be combined with suppressions on the legitimate IAM admin policies in your account so that it only fires when new and unexpected policies granting admin access are created.
Runbook: Delete the unapproved IAM admin policy.
Reference: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access_policies.html
Tests:
  - Name: Policy Does Not Grant Administrative Privileges
    ExpectedResult: true
    Resource:
      {
        "AccountId": "123456789012",
        "Arn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:policy/ExamplePolicy",
        "AttachmentCount": 1,
        "DefaultVersionId": "v1",
        "Description": null,
        "Entities":
          {
            "PolicyGroups": null,
            "PolicyRoles": [{ "RoleId": "1111", "RoleName": "ExampleRole" }],
            "PolicyUsers": null,
          },
        "Id": "AAAAA",
        "IsAttachable": true,
        "Name": "ExamplePolicy",
        "Path": "/",
        "PermissionsBoundaryUsageCount": 0,
        "PolicyDocument": '{"Version":"2012-10-17","Statement":[{"Action":["kms:DescribeKey"],"Resource":"arn:aws:kms:us-west-2:123456789012:key/1","Effect":"Allow","Sid":"EncryptMessages"}]}',
        "Region": "global",
        "ResourceId": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:policy/ExamplePolicy",
        "ResourceType": "AWS.IAM.Policy",
        "Tags": null,
        "TimeCreated": "2019-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
        "UpdateDate": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z",
      }
  - Name: Policy Does Grant Administrative Privileges
    ExpectedResult: false
    Resource:
      {
        "AccountId": "123456789012",
        "Arn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:policy/ExamplePolicy",
        "AttachmentCount": 1,
        "DefaultVersionId": "v1",
        "Description": null,
        "Entities":
          {
            "PolicyGroups": null,
            "PolicyRoles": [{ "RoleId": "1111", "RoleName": "ExampleRole" }],
            "PolicyUsers": null,
          },
        "Id": "AAAAA",
        "IsAttachable": true,
        "Name": "ExamplePolicy",
        "Path": "/",
        "PermissionsBoundaryUsageCount": 0,
        "PolicyDocument": '{"Version":"2012-10-17","Statement":[{"Action":["kms:PutKeyPolicy","kms:GenerateDataKey"],"Resource":"arn:aws:kms:us-west-2:123456789012:key/1","Effect":"Allow","Sid":"EncryptMessages"},{"Action":["sqs:SendMessage","sqs:SendMessageBatch"],"Resource":"arn:aws:sqs:us-west-2:123456789012:example-queue","Effect":"Allow","Sid":"SendSQSMessages"}]}',
        "Region": "global",
        "ResourceId": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:policy/ExamplePolicy",
        "ResourceType": "AWS.IAM.Policy",
        "Tags": null,
        "TimeCreated": "2019-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
        "UpdateDate": "2019-01-01T00:00:00Z",
      }
  - Name: AWS Service-Linked Policy Network Admin
    ExpectedResult: true
    Resource:
      {
        "AccountId": "123456789012",
        "Arn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:policy/aws-service-role/AmazonGuardDutyServiceRolePolicy",
        "AttachmentCount": 1,
        "DefaultVersionId": "v6",
        "Entities":
          {
            "PolicyGroups": null,
            "PolicyRoles":
              [
                {
                  "RoleId": "AROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO",
                  "RoleName": "AWSServiceRoleForAmazonGuardDuty",
                },
              ],
            "PolicyUsers": null,
          },
        "Id": "ANPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP",
        "IsAttachable": true,
        "Name": "AmazonGuardDutyServiceRolePolicy",
        "Path": "/aws-service-role/",
        "PermissionsBoundaryUsageCount": 0,
        "PolicyDocument": "{\n\t\"Version\": \"2012-10-17\",\n\t\"Statement\": [\n\t\t{\n\t\t\t\"Effect\": \"Allow\",\n\t\t\t\"Action\": [\n\t\t\t\t\"ec2:DescribeInstances\",\n\t\t\t\t\"ec2:DescribeImages\",\n\t\t\t\t\"ec2:DescribeVpcEndpoints\",\n\t\t\t\t\"ec2:DescribeSubnets\",\n\t\t\t\t\"ec2:DescribeVpcPeeringConnections\",\n\t\t\t\t\"ec2:DescribeTransitGatewayAttachments\",\n\t\t\t\t\"organizations:ListAccounts\",\n\t\t\t\t\"organizations:DescribeAccount\",\n\t\t\t\t\"s3:GetBucketPublicAccessBlock\",\n\t\t\t\t\"s3:GetEncryptionConfiguration\",\n\t\t\t\t\"s3:GetBucketTagging\",\n\t\t\t\t\"s3:GetAccountPublicAccessBlock\",\n\t\t\t\t\"s3:ListAllMyBuckets\",\n\t\t\t\t\"s3:GetBucketAcl\",\n\t\t\t\t\"s3:GetBucketPolicy\",\n\t\t\t\t\"s3:GetBucketPolicyStatus\",\n\t\t\t\t\"lambda:GetFunctionConfiguration\",\n\t\t\t\t\"lambda:ListTags\",\n\t\t\t\t\"eks:ListClusters\",\n\t\t\t\t\"eks:DescribeCluster\",\n\t\t\t\t\"ec2:DescribeVpcEndpointServices\",\n\t\t\t\t\"ec2:DescribeSecurityGroups\"\n\t\t\t],\n\t\t\t\"Resource\": \"*\"\n\t\t},\n\t\t{\n\t\t\t\"Effect\": \"Allow\",\n\t\t\t\"Action\": \"iam:CreateServiceLinkedRole\",\n\t\t\t\"Resource\": \"*\",\n\t\t\t\"Condition\": {\n\t\t\t\t\"StringEquals\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"iam:AWSServiceName\": \"malware-protection.guardduty.amazonaws.com\"\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t},\n\t\t{\n\t\t\t\"Effect\": \"Allow\",\n\t\t\t\"Action\": \"ec2:CreateVpcEndpoint\",\n\t\t\t\"Resource\": \"arn:aws:ec2:*:*:vpc-endpoint/*\",\n\t\t\t\"Condition\": {\n\t\t\t\t\"ForAnyValue:StringEquals\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"aws:TagKeys\": \"GuardDutyManaged\"\n\t\t\t\t},\n\t\t\t\t\"StringLike\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"ec2:VpceServiceName\": [\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"com.amazonaws.*.guardduty-data\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"com.amazonaws.*.guardduty-data-fips\"\n\t\t\t\t\t]\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t},\n\t\t{\n\t\t\t\"Effect\": \"Allow\",\n\t\t\t\"Action\": [\n\t\t\t\t\"ec2:ModifyVpcEndpoint\",\n\t\t\t\t\"ec2:DeleteVpcEndpoints\"\n\t\t\t],\n\t\t\t\"Resource\": \"arn:aws:ec2:*:*:vpc-endpoint/*\",\n\t\t\t\"Condition\": {\n\t\t\t\t\"Null\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"aws:ResourceTag/GuardDutyManaged\": false\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t},\n\t\t{\n\t\t\t\"Effect\": \"Allow\",\n\t\t\t\"Action\": [\n\t\t\t\t\"ec2:CreateVpcEndpoint\",\n\t\t\t\t\"ec2:ModifyVpcEndpoint\"\n\t\t\t],\n\t\t\t\"Resource\": [\n\t\t\t\t\"arn:aws:ec2:*:*:vpc/*\",\n\t\t\t\t\"arn:aws:ec2:*:*:security-group/*\",\n\t\t\t\t\"arn:aws:ec2:*:*:subnet/*\"\n\t\t\t]\n\t\t},\n\t\t{\n\t\t\t\"Effect\": \"Allow\",\n\t\t\t\"Action\": \"ec2:CreateTags\",\n\t\t\t\"Resource\": \"arn:aws:ec2:*:*:vpc-endpoint/*\",\n\t\t\t\"Condition\": {\n\t\t\t\t\"StringEquals\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"ec2:CreateAction\": \"CreateVpcEndpoint\"\n\t\t\t\t},\n\t\t\t\t\"ForAnyValue:StringEquals\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"aws:TagKeys\": \"GuardDutyManaged\"\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t},\n\t\t{\n\t\t\t\"Effect\": \"Allow\",\n\t\t\t\"Action\": [\n\t\t\t\t\"ec2:AuthorizeSecurityGroupIngress\",\n\t\t\t\t\"ec2:AuthorizeSecurityGroupEgress\",\n\t\t\t\t\"ec2:RevokeSecurityGroupIngress\",\n\t\t\t\t\"ec2:RevokeSecurityGroupEgress\",\n\t\t\t\t\"ec2:DeleteSecurityGroup\"\n\t\t\t],\n\t\t\t\"Resource\": \"arn:aws:ec2:*:*:security-group/*\",\n\t\t\t\"Condition\": {\n\t\t\t\t\"Null\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"aws:ResourceTag/GuardDutyManaged\": false\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t},\n\t\t{\n\t\t\t\"Effect\": \"Allow\",\n\t\t\t\"Action\": \"ec2:CreateSecurityGroup\",\n\t\t\t\"Resource\": \"arn:aws:ec2:*:*:security-group/*\",\n\t\t\t\"Condition\": {\n\t\t\t\t\"StringLike\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"aws:RequestTag/GuardDutyManaged\": \"*\"\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t},\n\t\t{\n\t\t\t\"Effect\": \"Allow\",\n\t\t\t\"Action\": \"ec2:CreateSecurityGroup\",\n\t\t\t\"Resource\": \"arn:aws:ec2:*:*:vpc/*\"\n\t\t},\n\t\t{\n\t\t\t\"Effect\": \"Allow\",\n\t\t\t\"Action\": \"ec2:CreateTags\",\n\t\t\t\"Resource\": \"arn:aws:ec2:*:*:security-group/*\",\n\t\t\t\"Condition\": {\n\t\t\t\t\"StringEquals\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"ec2:CreateAction\": \"CreateSecurityGroup\"\n\t\t\t\t},\n\t\t\t\t\"ForAnyValue:StringEquals\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"aws:TagKeys\": \"GuardDutyManaged\"\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t},\n\t\t{\n\t\t\t\"Effect\": \"Allow\",\n\t\t\t\"Action\": \"eks:CreateAddon\",\n\t\t\t\"Resource\": \"arn:aws:eks:*:*:cluster/*\",\n\t\t\t\"Condition\": {\n\t\t\t\t\"ForAnyValue:StringEquals\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"aws:TagKeys\": \"GuardDutyManaged\"\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t},\n\t\t{\n\t\t\t\"Effect\": \"Allow\",\n\t\t\t\"Action\": [\n\t\t\t\t\"eks:DeleteAddon\",\n\t\t\t\t\"eks:UpdateAddon\",\n\t\t\t\t\"eks:DescribeAddon\"\n\t\t\t],\n\t\t\t\"Resource\": \"arn:aws:eks:*:*:addon/*/aws-guardduty-agent/*\"\n\t\t},\n\t\t{\n\t\t\t\"Effect\": \"Allow\",\n\t\t\t\"Action\": \"eks:TagResource\",\n\t\t\t\"Resource\": \"arn:aws:eks:*:*:cluster/*\",\n\t\t\t\"Condition\": {\n\t\t\t\t\"ForAnyValue:StringEquals\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"aws:TagKeys\": \"GuardDutyManaged\"\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t}\n\t]\n}",
        "Region": "global",
        "ResourceId": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:policy/aws-service-role/AmazonGuardDutyServiceRolePolicy",
        "ResourceType": "AWS.IAM.Policy",
        "TimeCreated": "2017-11-28T20:12:59Z",
        "UpdateDate": "2023-03-05T19:19:19Z",
      }
  - Name: AWS Service Linked Role Policy Admin
    ExpectedResult: true
    Resource:
      {
        "AccountId": "123456789012",
        "Arn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:policy/aws-service-role/AmazonElasticFileSystemServiceRolePolicy",
        "AttachmentCount": 1,
        "DefaultVersionId": "v4",
        "Entities":
          {
            "PolicyGroups": null,
            "PolicyRoles":
              [
                {
                  "RoleId": "AROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO",
                  "RoleName": "AWSServiceRoleForAmazonElasticFileSystem",
                },
              ],
            "PolicyUsers": null,
          },
        "Id": "ANPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP",
        "IsAttachable": true,
        "Name": "AmazonElasticFileSystemServiceRolePolicy",
        "Path": "/aws-service-role/",
        "PermissionsBoundaryUsageCount": 0,
        "PolicyDocument": "{\n\t\"Version\": \"2012-10-17\",\n\t\"Statement\": [\n\t\t{\n\t\t\t\"Effect\": \"Allow\",\n\t\t\t\"Action\": [\n\t\t\t\t\"backup-storage:MountCapsule\",\n\t\t\t\t\"ec2:CreateNetworkInterface\",\n\t\t\t\t\"ec2:DeleteNetworkInterface\",\n\t\t\t\t\"ec2:DescribeSecurityGroups\",\n\t\t\t\t\"ec2:DescribeSubnets\",\n\t\t\t\t\"ec2:DescribeNetworkInterfaceAttribute\",\n\t\t\t\t\"ec2:ModifyNetworkInterfaceAttribute\",\n\t\t\t\t\"tag:GetResources\"\n\t\t\t],\n\t\t\t\"Resource\": \"*\"\n\t\t},\n\t\t{\n\t\t\t\"Effect\": \"Allow\",\n\t\t\t\"Action\": [\n\t\t\t\t\"kms:DescribeKey\"\n\t\t\t],\n\t\t\t\"Resource\": \"arn:aws:kms:*:*:key/*\"\n\t\t},\n\t\t{\n\t\t\t\"Effect\": \"Allow\",\n\t\t\t\"Action\": [\n\t\t\t\t\"backup:CreateBackupVault\",\n\t\t\t\t\"backup:PutBackupVaultAccessPolicy\"\n\t\t\t],\n\t\t\t\"Resource\": [\n\t\t\t\t\"arn:aws:backup:*:*:backup-vault:aws/efs/automatic-backup-vault\"\n\t\t\t]\n\t\t},\n\t\t{\n\t\t\t\"Effect\": \"Allow\",\n\t\t\t\"Action\": [\n\t\t\t\t\"backup:CreateBackupPlan\",\n\t\t\t\t\"backup:CreateBackupSelection\"\n\t\t\t],\n\t\t\t\"Resource\": [\n\t\t\t\t\"arn:aws:backup:*:*:backup-plan:*\"\n\t\t\t]\n\t\t},\n\t\t{\n\t\t\t\"Effect\": \"Allow\",\n\t\t\t\"Action\": [\n\t\t\t\t\"iam:CreateServiceLinkedRole\"\n\t\t\t],\n\t\t\t\"Resource\": \"*\",\n\t\t\t\"Condition\": {\n\t\t\t\t\"StringEquals\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"iam:AWSServiceName\": [\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"backup.amazonaws.com\"\n\t\t\t\t\t]\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t},\n\t\t{\n\t\t\t\"Effect\": \"Allow\",\n\t\t\t\"Action\": [\n\t\t\t\t\"iam:PassRole\"\n\t\t\t],\n\t\t\t\"Resource\": [\n\t\t\t\t\"arn:aws:iam::*:role/aws-service-role/backup.amazonaws.com/AWSServiceRoleForBackup\"\n\t\t\t],\n\t\t\t\"Condition\": {\n\t\t\t\t\"StringLike\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"iam:PassedToService\": \"backup.amazonaws.com\"\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t},\n\t\t{\n\t\t\t\"Effect\": \"Allow\",\n\t\t\t\"Action\": [\n\t\t\t\t\"elasticfilesystem:DescribeFileSystems\",\n\t\t\t\t\"elasticfilesystem:CreateReplicationConfiguration\",\n\t\t\t\t\"elasticfilesystem:DescribeReplicationConfigurations\",\n\t\t\t\t\"elasticfilesystem:DeleteReplicationConfiguration\"\n\t\t\t],\n\t\t\t\"Resource\": \"*\"\n\t\t}\n\t]\n}",
        "Region": "global",
        "ResourceId": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:policy/aws-service-role/AmazonElasticFileSystemServiceRolePolicy",
        "ResourceType": "AWS.IAM.Policy",
        "TimeCreated": "2019-11-05T16:52:41Z",
        "UpdateDate": "2023-03-10T19:19:19Z",
      }

Detection logic

Condition

Path not eq "/aws-service-role/"

This rule also runs imperative logic the parser cannot express as a filter; the conditions above are the structured part it could extract.

Exclusions

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

Field	Kind	Excluded values
`Path`	eq	`/aws-service-role/`

`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)