AWS RDS Snapshot Enumeration with Public or Shared Flag

Status: Experimental
Severity: low
Group by: awsRegion, recipientAccountId, userIdentity.arn
Log types: AWS.CloudTrail
Tags: AWS, Discovery, Cloud Infrastructure Discovery, Reconnaissance, RDS
Reference: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/USER_ListSnapshots.html
Source: github.com/panther-labs/panther-analysis

Detects when RDS snapshots are queried with includePublic or includeShared flags. This indicates reconnaissance for publicly accessible or shared snapshots that may contain sensitive data and be exploitable by attackers.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Discovery	`T1580` Cloud Infrastructure Discovery

Rules detecting the same action

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

AWS Discovery API Calls from VPN ASN for the First Time by Identity (Elastic)

Rule body yaml

AnalysisType: rule
Filename: aws_rds_snapshot_enumeration.py
RuleID: "AWS.RDS.SnapshotEnumeration"
DisplayName: "AWS RDS Snapshot Enumeration with Public or Shared Flag"
Enabled: true
Status: Experimental
LogTypes:
  - AWS.CloudTrail
Tags:
  - AWS
  - Discovery
  - Cloud Infrastructure Discovery
  - Reconnaissance
  - RDS
Severity: Low
Description: >
  Detects when RDS snapshots are queried with includePublic or includeShared flags.
  This indicates reconnaissance for publicly accessible or shared snapshots that may
  contain sensitive data and be exploitable by attackers.
Runbook: |
  1. Find all snapshot enumeration events by the user ARN in the past 6 hours to identify systematic patterns
  2. Check if the source IP address is associated with known VPN or proxy services
  3. Look for snapshot copy or restore operations from this user in the 24 hours after the enumeration
Reference: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/USER_ListSnapshots.html
Reports:
  MITRE ATT&CK:
    - TA0007:T1580  # Cloud Infrastructure Discovery
DedupPeriodMinutes: 60
SummaryAttributes:
  - eventName
  - userIdentity:principalId
  - requestParameters:includePublic
  - requestParameters:includeShared
  - sourceIPAddress
  - p_any_aws_account_ids
Threshold: 1
Tests:
  - Name: Snapshot Enumeration with Public Flag
    ExpectedResult: true
    Log:
      eventVersion: "1.08"
      userIdentity:
        type: IAMUser
        principalId: "AIDAI23HXS3EXAMPLE"
        arn: "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:user/researcher"
        accountId: "123456789012"
        accessKeyId: "AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE"
        userName: researcher
      eventTime: "2024-01-18T05:00:00Z"
      eventSource: rds.amazonaws.com
      eventName: DescribeDBSnapshots
      awsRegion: us-east-1
      sourceIPAddress: "185.220.101.75"
      userAgent: "Boto3/1.26.0 Python/3.9.0"
      requestParameters:
        includePublic: true
        maxRecords: 100
      responseElements: null
      requestID: "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890"
      eventID: "f1e2d3c4-b5a6-7890-1234-567890abcdef"
      readOnly: true
      eventType: AwsApiCall
      managementEvent: true
      recipientAccountId: "123456789012"
      eventCategory: Management

  - Name: Cluster Snapshot Enumeration with Shared Flag
    ExpectedResult: true
    Log:
      eventVersion: "1.08"
      userIdentity:
        type: AssumedRole
        principalId: "AIDAI23HXS3EXAMPLE:user"
        arn: "arn:aws:sts::123456789012:assumed-role/SecurityAuditor/user"
        accountId: "123456789012"
        accessKeyId: "ASIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE"
      eventTime: "2024-01-18T05:00:00Z"
      eventSource: rds.amazonaws.com
      eventName: DescribeDBClusterSnapshots
      awsRegion: us-west-2
      sourceIPAddress: "203.0.113.150"
      userAgent: "aws-cli/2.13.0"
      requestParameters:
        includeShared: true
        maxRecords: 50
      responseElements: null
      requestID: "b2c3d4e5-f6a7-8901-bcde-f1234567890a"
      eventID: "g2f3e4d5-c6b7-8901-2345-678901bcdefg"
      readOnly: true
      eventType: AwsApiCall
      managementEvent: true
      recipientAccountId: "123456789012"
      eventCategory: Management

  - Name: Normal Snapshot Query - No Public or Shared Flag
    ExpectedResult: false
    Log:
      eventVersion: "1.08"
      userIdentity:
        type: AssumedRole
        principalId: "AIDAI23HXS3EXAMPLE:admin"
        arn: "arn:aws:sts::123456789012:assumed-role/DBARole/admin"
        accountId: "123456789012"
        accessKeyId: "ASIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE"
      eventTime: "2024-01-18T05:00:00Z"
      eventSource: rds.amazonaws.com
      eventName: DescribeDBSnapshots
      awsRegion: us-east-1
      sourceIPAddress: "10.0.1.100"
      userAgent: "console.amazonaws.com"
      requestParameters:
        dBInstanceIdentifier: "my-database"
        maxRecords: 20
      responseElements: null
      requestID: "c3d4e5f6-a7b8-9012-cdef-1234567890ab"
      eventID: "h3g4f5e6-d7c8-9012-3456-789012cdefgh"
      readOnly: true
      eventType: AwsApiCall
      managementEvent: true
      recipientAccountId: "123456789012"
      eventCategory: Management

  - Name: Query Failed
    ExpectedResult: false
    Log:
      eventVersion: "1.08"
      userIdentity:
        type: IAMUser
        principalId: "AIDAI23HXS3EXAMPLE"
        arn: "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:user/developer"
        accountId: "123456789012"
        accessKeyId: "AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE"
        userName: developer
      eventTime: "2024-01-18T05:00:00Z"
      eventSource: rds.amazonaws.com
      eventName: DescribeDBSnapshots
      awsRegion: us-east-1
      sourceIPAddress: "10.0.2.100"
      userAgent: "aws-cli/2.13.0"
      requestParameters:
        includePublic: true
      errorCode: AccessDenied
      errorMessage: "User is not authorized to perform: rds:DescribeDBSnapshots"
      requestID: "d4e5f6a7-b8c9-0123-def0-1234567890bc"
      eventID: "i4h5g6f7-e8d9-0123-4567-890123defghi"
      readOnly: true
      eventType: AwsApiCall
      managementEvent: true
      recipientAccountId: "123456789012"
      eventCategory: Management

Detection logic

Condition

eventSource eq "rds.amazonaws.com"
eventName in ["DescribeDBSnapshots", "DescribeDBClusterSnapshots"]
errorCode is_null
requestParameters.includePublic is_not_null or requestParameters.includeShared is_not_null

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`	is_null	(no value, null check)
`eventName`	in	`DescribeDBClusterSnapshots` `DescribeDBSnapshots`
`eventSource`	eq	`rds.amazonaws.com`
`requestParameters.includePublic`	is_not_null	(no value, null check)
`requestParameters.includeShared`	is_not_null	(no value, null check)

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`
`userName`	`userIdentity.userName`

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`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)