AWS RDS Manual/Public Snapshot Created

Severity: low
Log types: AWS.CloudTrail
Tags: AWS, Exfiltration, Transfer Data to Cloud Account
Reference: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/USER_CreateSnapshot.html
Source: github.com/panther-labs/panther-analysis

A manual snapshot of an RDS database was created. An attacker may use this to exfiltrate the DB contents to another account; use this as a correlation rule.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Exfiltration	`T1537` Transfer Data to Cloud Account

Rules detecting the same action

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

AWS RDS DB Snapshot Created (Elastic)

Rule body yaml

AnalysisType: rule
Filename: aws_rds_manual_snapshot_created.py
RuleID: "AWS.RDS.ManualSnapshotCreated"
DisplayName: "AWS RDS Manual/Public Snapshot Created"
Enabled: true
LogTypes:
  - AWS.CloudTrail
Tags:
  - AWS
  - Exfiltration
  - Transfer Data to Cloud Account
Reports:
  MITRE ATT&CK:
    - TA0010:T1537
Severity: Low
Description: >
  A manual snapshot of an RDS database was created.
  An attacker may use this to exfiltrate the DB contents to another account; use this as a correlation rule.
Runbook: >
  Ensure the snapshot was shared with an allowed AWS account. If not, delete the snapshot and quarantine the compromised IAM user.
Reference: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/USER_CreateSnapshot.html
SummaryAttributes:
  - eventSource
  - recipientAccountId
  - awsRegion
  - p_any_aws_arns
Tests:
  - Name: Manual Snapshot Created
    ExpectedResult: true
    Log:
      {
        "eventVersion": "1.08",
        "userIdentity":
          {
            "type": "AssumedRole",
            "principalId": "AROA2DFDF0C1FDFCAD2B2:fake.user",
            "arn": "arn:aws:sts::123456789012:assumed-role/ARole/fake.user",
            "accountId": "123456789012",
            "accessKeyId": "ASIAFFA5AFEC02FFCD8ED",
            "sessionContext":
              {
                "sessionIssuer":
                  {
                    "type": "Role",
                    "principalId": "AROA2DFDF0C1FDFCAD2B2",
                    "arn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/aws-reserved/sso.amazonaws.com/us-west-2/ARole",
                    "accountId": "123456789012",
                    "userName": "ARole",
                  },
                "webIdFederationData": {},
                "attributes":
                  {
                    "creationDate": "2023-12-08T13:53:48Z",
                    "mfaAuthenticated": "false",
                  },
              },
          },
        "eventTime": "2023-12-08T14:55:19Z",
        "eventSource": "rds.amazonaws.com",
        "eventName": "CreateDBSnapshot",
        "awsRegion": "us-west-2",
        "sourceIPAddress": "1.2.3.4",
        "userAgent": "APN/1.0 HashiCorp/1.0 Terraform/1.1.2 (+https://www.terraform.io) terraform-provider-aws/3.76.1 (+https://registry.terraform.io/providers/hashicorp/aws) aws-sdk-go/1.44.157 (go1.19.3; darwin; arm64) 68319f60-9dec-43b2-9702-de3a08c9d8a3 HashiCorp-terraform-exec/0.17.3",
        "requestParameters":
          {
            "dBInstanceIdentifier": "terraform-20231208145149286600000001",
            "dBSnapshotIdentifier": "exfiltration",
          },
        "responseElements":
          {
            "allocatedStorage": 10,
            "instanceCreateTime": "Dec 8, 2023 2:55:17 PM",
            "dBSnapshotIdentifier": "exfiltration",
            "dbiResourceId": "db-TYZSSMTWIABIR6QKKFGI55XKJQ",
            "port": 3306,
            "availabilityZone": "us-west-2b",
            "dBSnapshotArn": "arn:aws:rds:us-west-2:123456789012:snapshot:exfiltration",
            "processorFeatures": [],
            "encrypted": false,
            "percentProgress": 0,
            "optionGroupName": "default:mysql-8-0",
            "dBInstanceIdentifier": "terraform-20231208145149286600000001",
            "storageType": "gp2",
            "iAMDatabaseAuthenticationEnabled": false,
            "vpcId": "vpc-0c9c141888d129377",
            "storageThroughput": 0,
            "dedicatedLogVolume": false,
            "status": "creating",
            "masterUsername": "admin",
            "engine": "mysql",
            "snapshotType": "manual",
            "engineVersion": "8.0.33",
            "licenseModel": "general-public-license",
            "snapshotTarget": "region",
          },
        "requestID": "e5fd8d41-db7c-45df-a21a-f9cff8c19755",
        "eventID": "c665b42c-89b4-4072-ad71-0f9c8d50f649",
        "readOnly": false,
        "eventType": "AwsApiCall",
        "managementEvent": true,
        "recipientAccountId": "123456789012",
        "eventCategory": "Management",
        "tlsDetails":
          {
            "tlsVersion": "TLSv1.3",
            "cipherSuite": "TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256",
            "clientProvidedHostHeader": "rds.us-west-2.amazonaws.com",
          },
      }
  - Name: Public Snapshot Created
    ExpectedResult: true
    Log:
      {
        "eventVersion": "1.08",
        "userIdentity":
          {
            "type": "AssumedRole",
            "principalId": "AROA2DFDF0C1FDFCAD2B2:fake.user",
            "arn": "arn:aws:sts::123456789012:assumed-role/ARole/fake.user",
            "accountId": "123456789012",
            "accessKeyId": "ASIAFFA5AFEC02FFCD8ED",
            "sessionContext":
              {
                "sessionIssuer":
                  {
                    "type": "Role",
                    "principalId": "AROA2DFDF0C1FDFCAD2B2",
                    "arn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/aws-reserved/sso.amazonaws.com/us-west-2/ARole",
                    "accountId": "123456789012",
                    "userName": "ARole",
                  },
                "webIdFederationData": {},
                "attributes":
                  {
                    "creationDate": "2023-12-08T13:53:48Z",
                    "mfaAuthenticated": "false",
                  },
              },
          },
        "eventTime": "2023-12-08T14:55:19Z",
        "eventSource": "rds.amazonaws.com",
        "eventName": "CreateDBSnapshot",
        "awsRegion": "us-west-2",
        "sourceIPAddress": "1.2.3.4",
        "userAgent": "APN/1.0 HashiCorp/1.0 Terraform/1.1.2 (+https://www.terraform.io) terraform-provider-aws/3.76.1 (+https://registry.terraform.io/providers/hashicorp/aws) aws-sdk-go/1.44.157 (go1.19.3; darwin; arm64) 68319f60-9dec-43b2-9702-de3a08c9d8a3 HashiCorp-terraform-exec/0.17.3",
        "requestParameters":
          {
            "dBInstanceIdentifier": "terraform-20231208145149286600000001",
            "dBSnapshotIdentifier": "exfiltration",
          },
        "responseElements":
          {
            "allocatedStorage": 10,
            "instanceCreateTime": "Dec 8, 2023 2:55:17 PM",
            "dBSnapshotIdentifier": "exfiltration",
            "dbiResourceId": "db-TYZSSMTWIABIR6QKKFGI55XKJQ",
            "port": 3306,
            "availabilityZone": "us-west-2b",
            "dBSnapshotArn": "arn:aws:rds:us-west-2:123456789012:snapshot:exfiltration",
            "processorFeatures": [],
            "encrypted": false,
            "percentProgress": 0,
            "optionGroupName": "default:mysql-8-0",
            "dBInstanceIdentifier": "terraform-20231208145149286600000001",
            "storageType": "gp2",
            "iAMDatabaseAuthenticationEnabled": false,
            "vpcId": "vpc-0c9c141888d129377",
            "storageThroughput": 0,
            "dedicatedLogVolume": false,
            "status": "creating",
            "masterUsername": "admin",
            "engine": "mysql",
            "snapshotType": "public",
            "engineVersion": "8.0.33",
            "licenseModel": "general-public-license",
            "snapshotTarget": "region",
          },
        "requestID": "e5fd8d41-db7c-45df-a21a-f9cff8c19755",
        "eventID": "c665b42c-89b4-4072-ad71-0f9c8d50f649",
        "readOnly": false,
        "eventType": "AwsApiCall",
        "managementEvent": true,
        "recipientAccountId": "123456789012",
        "eventCategory": "Management",
        "tlsDetails":
          {
            "tlsVersion": "TLSv1.3",
            "cipherSuite": "TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256",
            "clientProvidedHostHeader": "rds.us-west-2.amazonaws.com",
          },
      }
  - Name: Automated Snapshot Created
    ExpectedResult: false
    Log:
      {
        "eventVersion": "1.08",
        "userIdentity":
          {
            "type": "AssumedRole",
            "principalId": "AROA2DFDF0C1FDFCAD2B2:fake.user",
            "arn": "arn:aws:sts::123456789012:assumed-role/ARole/fake.user",
            "accountId": "123456789012",
            "accessKeyId": "ASIAFFA5AFEC02FFCD8ED",
            "sessionContext":
              {
                "sessionIssuer":
                  {
                    "type": "Role",
                    "principalId": "AROA2DFDF0C1FDFCAD2B2",
                    "arn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/aws-reserved/sso.amazonaws.com/us-west-2/ARole",
                    "accountId": "123456789012",
                    "userName": "ARole",
                  },
                "webIdFederationData": {},
                "attributes":
                  {
                    "creationDate": "2023-12-08T13:53:48Z",
                    "mfaAuthenticated": "false",
                  },
              },
          },
        "eventTime": "2023-12-08T14:55:19Z",
        "eventSource": "rds.amazonaws.com",
        "eventName": "CreateDBSnapshot",
        "awsRegion": "us-west-2",
        "sourceIPAddress": "1.2.3.4",
        "userAgent": "APN/1.0 HashiCorp/1.0 Terraform/1.1.2 (+https://www.terraform.io) terraform-provider-aws/3.76.1 (+https://registry.terraform.io/providers/hashicorp/aws) aws-sdk-go/1.44.157 (go1.19.3; darwin; arm64) 68319f60-9dec-43b2-9702-de3a08c9d8a3 HashiCorp-terraform-exec/0.17.3",
        "requestParameters":
          {
            "dBInstanceIdentifier": "terraform-20231208145149286600000001",
            "dBSnapshotIdentifier": "exfiltration",
          },
        "responseElements":
          {
            "allocatedStorage": 10,
            "instanceCreateTime": "Dec 8, 2023 2:55:17 PM",
            "dBSnapshotIdentifier": "exfiltration",
            "dbiResourceId": "db-TYZSSMTWIABIR6QKKFGI55XKJQ",
            "port": 3306,
            "availabilityZone": "us-west-2b",
            "dBSnapshotArn": "arn:aws:rds:us-west-2:123456789012:snapshot:exfiltration",
            "processorFeatures": [],
            "encrypted": false,
            "percentProgress": 0,
            "optionGroupName": "default:mysql-8-0",
            "dBInstanceIdentifier": "terraform-20231208145149286600000001",
            "storageType": "gp2",
            "iAMDatabaseAuthenticationEnabled": false,
            "vpcId": "vpc-0c9c141888d129377",
            "storageThroughput": 0,
            "dedicatedLogVolume": false,
            "status": "creating",
            "masterUsername": "admin",
            "engine": "mysql",
            "snapshotType": "automated",
            "engineVersion": "8.0.33",
            "licenseModel": "general-public-license",
            "snapshotTarget": "region",
          },
        "requestID": "e5fd8d41-db7c-45df-a21a-f9cff8c19755",
        "eventID": "c665b42c-89b4-4072-ad71-0f9c8d50f649",
        "readOnly": false,
        "eventType": "AwsApiCall",
        "managementEvent": true,
        "recipientAccountId": "123456789012",
        "eventCategory": "Management",
        "tlsDetails":
          {
            "tlsVersion": "TLSv1.3",
            "cipherSuite": "TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256",
            "clientProvidedHostHeader": "rds.us-west-2.amazonaws.com",
          },
      }
  - Name: Awsbackup Snapshot Created
    ExpectedResult: false
    Log:
      {
        "eventVersion": "1.08",
        "userIdentity":
          {
            "type": "AssumedRole",
            "principalId": "AROA2DFDF0C1FDFCAD2B2:fake.user",
            "arn": "arn:aws:sts::123456789012:assumed-role/ARole/fake.user",
            "accountId": "123456789012",
            "accessKeyId": "ASIAFFA5AFEC02FFCD8ED",
            "sessionContext":
              {
                "sessionIssuer":
                  {
                    "type": "Role",
                    "principalId": "AROA2DFDF0C1FDFCAD2B2",
                    "arn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/aws-reserved/sso.amazonaws.com/us-west-2/ARole",
                    "accountId": "123456789012",
                    "userName": "ARole",
                  },
                "webIdFederationData": {},
                "attributes":
                  {
                    "creationDate": "2023-12-08T13:53:48Z",
                    "mfaAuthenticated": "false",
                  },
              },
          },
        "eventTime": "2023-12-08T14:55:19Z",
        "eventSource": "rds.amazonaws.com",
        "eventName": "CreateDBSnapshot",
        "awsRegion": "us-west-2",
        "sourceIPAddress": "1.2.3.4",
        "userAgent": "APN/1.0 HashiCorp/1.0 Terraform/1.1.2 (+https://www.terraform.io) terraform-provider-aws/3.76.1 (+https://registry.terraform.io/providers/hashicorp/aws) aws-sdk-go/1.44.157 (go1.19.3; darwin; arm64) 68319f60-9dec-43b2-9702-de3a08c9d8a3 HashiCorp-terraform-exec/0.17.3",
        "requestParameters":
          {
            "dBInstanceIdentifier": "terraform-20231208145149286600000001",
            "dBSnapshotIdentifier": "exfiltration",
          },
        "responseElements":
          {
            "allocatedStorage": 10,
            "instanceCreateTime": "Dec 8, 2023 2:55:17 PM",
            "dBSnapshotIdentifier": "exfiltration",
            "dbiResourceId": "db-TYZSSMTWIABIR6QKKFGI55XKJQ",
            "port": 3306,
            "availabilityZone": "us-west-2b",
            "dBSnapshotArn": "arn:aws:rds:us-west-2:123456789012:snapshot:exfiltration",
            "processorFeatures": [],
            "encrypted": false,
            "percentProgress": 0,
            "optionGroupName": "default:mysql-8-0",
            "dBInstanceIdentifier": "terraform-20231208145149286600000001",
            "storageType": "gp2",
            "iAMDatabaseAuthenticationEnabled": false,
            "vpcId": "vpc-0c9c141888d129377",
            "storageThroughput": 0,
            "dedicatedLogVolume": false,
            "status": "creating",
            "masterUsername": "admin",
            "engine": "mysql",
            "snapshotType": "awsbackup",
            "engineVersion": "8.0.33",
            "licenseModel": "general-public-license",
            "snapshotTarget": "region",
          },
        "requestID": "e5fd8d41-db7c-45df-a21a-f9cff8c19755",
        "eventID": "c665b42c-89b4-4072-ad71-0f9c8d50f649",
        "readOnly": false,
        "eventType": "AwsApiCall",
        "managementEvent": true,
        "recipientAccountId": "123456789012",
        "eventCategory": "Management",
        "tlsDetails":
          {
            "tlsVersion": "TLSv1.3",
            "cipherSuite": "TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256",
            "clientProvidedHostHeader": "rds.us-west-2.amazonaws.com",
          },
      }

Detection logic

Condition

eventSource eq "rds.amazonaws.com"
eventName eq "CreateDBSnapshot"
responseElements.snapshotType in ["manual", "public"]

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	`CreateDBSnapshot`
`eventSource`	eq	`rds.amazonaws.com`
`responseElements.snapshotType`	in	`manual` `public`

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
`eventName`
`eventSource`
`awsRegion`
`recipientAccountId`
`sourceIPAddress`
`userAgent`
`userIdentity`
`dBInstanceIdentifier`	`responseElements.dBInstanceIdentifier`

`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)