AWS S3 Security Control Disabling

Status: Experimental
Severity: high
Group by: requestParameters.bucketName, userIdentity.arn
Log types: AWS.CloudTrail
Tags: AWS, S3, Ransomware
Reference: https://rhinosecuritylabs.com/aws/s3-ransomware-part-1-attack-vector/
Source: github.com/panther-labs/panther-analysis

Detects the disabling of 2 or more distinct S3 security controls (logging, versioning, and MFA delete protection) on the same bucket by the same actor within a short timeframe. Threshold is set to 2 rather than 3 because versioning and MFA delete can be disabled together in a single PutBucketVersioning API call, which produces only one unique value — making a threshold of 3 structurally unreachable in that scenario. This pattern is a strong indicator of preparation for ransomware or data destruction attacks, as attackers typically disable recovery mechanisms before encrypting or deleting data.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Stealth	`T1562` Impair Defenses
Impact	`T1485` Data Destruction

Rules detecting the same action

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

AWS S3 Bucket Server Access Logging Disabled (Elastic)
AWS S3 Bucket Versioning Disable (Sigma)
AWS S3 Data Management Tampering (Sigma)
AWS S3 Object Versioning Suspended (Elastic)
S3 Bucket Logging Disabled (Panther)
S3 Bucket Versioning Suspended (Panther)
S3 MFA Delete Disabled (Panther)

Rule body yaml

AnalysisType: rule
RuleID: "AWS.S3.SecurityControlDisabling"
DisplayName: "AWS S3 Security Control Disabling"
Filename: aws_s3_security_control_disabling.py
Enabled: true
Status: Experimental
LogTypes:
  - AWS.CloudTrail
Severity: High
Threshold: 2
DedupPeriodMinutes: 90
Description: >
  Detects the disabling of 2 or more distinct S3 security controls (logging, versioning, and MFA
  delete protection) on the same bucket by the same actor within a short timeframe. Threshold is
  set to 2 rather than 3 because versioning and MFA delete can be disabled together in a single
  PutBucketVersioning API call, which produces only one unique value — making a threshold of 3
  structurally unreachable in that scenario. This pattern is a strong indicator of preparation for
  ransomware or data destruction attacks, as attackers typically disable recovery mechanisms before
  encrypting or deleting data.
Runbook: |
  1. Query CloudTrail for all S3 API calls by the actor ARN on the affected bucket in the 24 hours before and after the bucket logging was disabled to identify if this is part of a larger attack pattern
  2. Check for subsequent suspicious activities on the same bucket including DeleteObject, DeleteObjects, PutBucketEncryption, or GetObject events in the 6 hours after all three security controls were disabled
  3. Find all other S3 buckets where this actor ARN has disabled logging, versioning, or MFA delete in the past 7 days to determine if this is a widespread attack
Reference: https://rhinosecuritylabs.com/aws/s3-ransomware-part-1-attack-vector/
Tags:
  - AWS
  - S3
  - Ransomware
Reports:
  MITRE ATT&CK:
    - TA0005:T1562 # Defense Evasion: Impair Defenses
    - TA0040:T1485 # Impact: Data Destruction
Tests:
  - Name: Match - Bucket Logging Disabled
    ExpectedResult: true
    Log:
      {
        "eventVersion": "1.11",
        "userIdentity":
          {
            "type": "AssumedRole",
            "principalId": "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA:user_name",
            "arn": "arn:aws:sts::111111111111:assumed-role/sample-role-dreamy-yonath/user_name",
            "accountId": "111111111111",
            "accessKeyId": "ASIA-MOCKACCESSKEYID-1",
            "sessionContext":
              {
                "sessionIssuer":
                  {
                    "type": "Role",
                    "principalId": "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA",
                    "arn": "arn:aws:iam::111111111111:role/sample-role-dreamy-yonath",
                    "accountId": "111111111111",
                    "userName": "AdminRole",
                  },
                "attributes":
                  {
                    "creationDate": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
                    "mfaAuthenticated": "false",
                  },
              },
          },
        "eventTime": "2024-01-15T10:45:23Z",
        "eventSource": "s3.amazonaws.com",
        "eventName": "PutBucketLogging",
        "awsRegion": "us-west-2",
        "sourceIPAddress": "1.2.3.4",
        "userAgent": "aws-cli/2.13.0 Python/3.11.4 Linux/5.10.0-1234-aws exe/x86_64.ubuntu.22",
        "requestParameters":
          {
            "logging": "",
            "bucketName": "critical-data-bucket",
            "BucketLoggingStatus": { "xmlns": "http://s3.amazonaws.com/doc/2006-03-01/" },
          },
        "responseElements": null,
        "requestID": "ABC123DEF456",
        "eventID": "12345678-1234-1234-1234-111111111111",
        "readOnly": false,
        "eventType": "AwsApiCall",
        "managementEvent": true,
        "recipientAccountId": "111111111111",
        "eventCategory": "Management",
      }
  - Name: Match - Versioning Suspended
    ExpectedResult: true
    Log:
      {
        "eventVersion": "1.08",
        "userIdentity":
          {
            "type": "AssumedRole",
            "principalId": "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA:user_name",
            "arn": "arn:aws:sts::111111111111:assumed-role/sample-role-dreamy-yonath/user_name",
            "accountId": "111111111111",
            "accessKeyId": "ASIA-MOCKACCESSKEYID-1",
            "sessionContext":
              {
                "attributes":
                  { "mfaAuthenticated": "false", "creationDate": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z" },
                "sessionIssuer":
                  {
                    "type": "Role",
                    "principalId": "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA",
                    "arn": "arn:aws:iam::111111111111:role/sample-role-dreamy-yonath",
                    "accountId": "111111111111",
                    "userName": "AdminRole",
                  },
              },
          },
        "eventTime": "2024-01-15T10:50:00Z",
        "eventSource": "s3.amazonaws.com",
        "eventName": "PutBucketVersioning",
        "awsRegion": "us-east-1",
        "sourceIPAddress": "1.2.3.4",
        "userAgent": "aws-cli/2.13.0 Python/3.11.4 Linux/5.10.0-1234-aws exe/x86_64.ubuntu.22",
        "requestParameters":
          {
            "bucketName": "critical-data-bucket",
            "host": "critical-data-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com",
            "VersioningConfiguration": { "Status": "Suspended" },
          },
        "responseElements": null,
        "requestID": "ABC123DEF456",
        "eventID": "12345678-1234-1234-1234-222222222222",
        "readOnly": false,
        "eventType": "AwsApiCall",
        "managementEvent": true,
        "recipientAccountId": "111111111111",
      }
  - Name: Match - Versioning Disabled (alternate status value)
    ExpectedResult: true
    Log:
      {
        "eventVersion": "1.08",
        "userIdentity":
          {
            "type": "AssumedRole",
            "principalId": "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA:user_name",
            "arn": "arn:aws:sts::111111111111:assumed-role/sample-role-dreamy-yonath/user_name",
            "accountId": "111111111111",
            "accessKeyId": "ASIA-MOCKACCESSKEYID-1",
          },
        "eventTime": "2024-01-15T10:50:00Z",
        "eventSource": "s3.amazonaws.com",
        "eventName": "PutBucketVersioning",
        "awsRegion": "us-east-1",
        "sourceIPAddress": "1.2.3.4",
        "userAgent": "aws-cli/2.13.0 Python/3.11.4 Linux/5.10.0-1234-aws exe/x86_64.ubuntu.22",
        "requestParameters":
          {
            "bucketName": "critical-data-bucket",
            "host": "critical-data-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com",
            "VersioningConfiguration": { "Status": "Disabled" },
          },
        "responseElements": null,
        "requestID": "ABC123DEF456",
        "eventID": "12345678-1234-1234-1234-333333333333",
        "readOnly": false,
        "eventType": "AwsApiCall",
        "managementEvent": true,
        "recipientAccountId": "111111111111",
      }
  - Name: Match - MFA Delete Disabled
    ExpectedResult: true
    Log:
      {
        "eventVersion": "1.08",
        "userIdentity":
          {
            "type": "AssumedRole",
            "principalId": "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA:user_name",
            "arn": "arn:aws:sts::111111111111:assumed-role/sample-role-dreamy-yonath/user_name",
            "accountId": "111111111111",
            "accessKeyId": "ASIA-MOCKACCESSKEYID-1",
            "sessionContext":
              {
                "attributes":
                  { "mfaAuthenticated": "true", "creationDate": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z" },
                "sessionIssuer":
                  {
                    "type": "Role",
                    "principalId": "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA",
                    "arn": "arn:aws:iam::111111111111:role/sample-role-dreamy-yonath",
                    "accountId": "111111111111",
                    "userName": "AdminRole",
                  },
              },
          },
        "eventTime": "2024-01-15T10:55:00Z",
        "eventSource": "s3.amazonaws.com",
        "eventName": "PutBucketVersioning",
        "awsRegion": "us-east-1",
        "sourceIPAddress": "1.2.3.4",
        "userAgent": "aws-cli/2.13.0 Python/3.11.4 Linux/5.10.0-1234-aws exe/x86_64.ubuntu.22",
        "requestParameters":
          {
            "bucketName": "critical-data-bucket",
            "host": "critical-data-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com",
            "VersioningConfiguration": { "Status": "Enabled", "MfaDelete": "Disabled" },
          },
        "responseElements": null,
        "requestID": "ABC123DEF456",
        "eventID": "12345678-1234-1234-1234-444444444444",
        "readOnly": false,
        "eventType": "AwsApiCall",
        "managementEvent": true,
        "recipientAccountId": "111111111111",
      }
  - Name: Match - Versioning Suspended and MFA Delete Disabled in Single Call
    ExpectedResult: true
    Log:
      {
        "eventVersion": "1.08",
        "userIdentity":
          {
            "type": "AssumedRole",
            "principalId": "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA:user_name",
            "arn": "arn:aws:sts::111111111111:assumed-role/sample-role-dreamy-yonath/user_name",
            "accountId": "111111111111",
            "accessKeyId": "ASIA-MOCKACCESSKEYID-1",
          },
        "eventTime": "2024-01-15T10:55:00Z",
        "eventSource": "s3.amazonaws.com",
        "eventName": "PutBucketVersioning",
        "awsRegion": "us-east-1",
        "sourceIPAddress": "1.2.3.4",
        "userAgent": "aws-cli/2.13.0 Python/3.11.4 Linux/5.10.0-1234-aws exe/x86_64.ubuntu.22",
        "requestParameters":
          {
            "bucketName": "critical-data-bucket",
            "host": "critical-data-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com",
            "VersioningConfiguration": { "Status": "Suspended", "MfaDelete": "Disabled" },
          },
        "responseElements": null,
        "requestID": "ABC123DEF456",
        "eventID": "12345678-1234-1234-1234-555555555555",
        "readOnly": false,
        "eventType": "AwsApiCall",
        "managementEvent": true,
        "recipientAccountId": "111111111111",
      }
  - Name: No Match - Bucket Logging Enabled
    ExpectedResult: false
    Log:
      {
        "eventVersion": "1.11",
        "userIdentity":
          {
            "type": "AssumedRole",
            "principalId": "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA:user_name",
            "arn": "arn:aws:sts::111111111111:assumed-role/sample-role-dreamy-yonath/user_name",
            "accountId": "111111111111",
            "accessKeyId": "ASIA-MOCKACCESSKEYID-1",
          },
        "eventTime": "2024-01-15T10:45:23Z",
        "eventSource": "s3.amazonaws.com",
        "eventName": "PutBucketLogging",
        "awsRegion": "us-west-2",
        "sourceIPAddress": "1.2.3.4",
        "userAgent": "aws-cli/2.13.0 Python/3.11.4 Linux/5.10.0-1234-aws exe/x86_64.ubuntu.22",
        "requestParameters":
          {
            "logging": [{ "targetBucket": "logging-bucket", "targetPrefix": "logs/" }],
            "bucketName": "critical-data-bucket",
            "BucketLoggingStatus":
              {
                "xmlns": "http://s3.amazonaws.com/doc/2006-03-01/",
                "LoggingEnabled":
                  { "TargetBucket": "logging-bucket", "TargetPrefix": "logs/" },
              },
          },
        "responseElements": null,
        "requestID": "ABC123DEF456",
        "eventID": "12345678-1234-1234-1234-666666666666",
        "readOnly": false,
        "eventType": "AwsApiCall",
        "managementEvent": true,
        "recipientAccountId": "111111111111",
      }
  - Name: No Match - Versioning Enabled
    ExpectedResult: false
    Log:
      {
        "eventVersion": "1.08",
        "userIdentity":
          {
            "type": "AssumedRole",
            "principalId": "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA:user_name",
            "arn": "arn:aws:sts::111111111111:assumed-role/sample-role-dreamy-yonath/user_name",
            "accountId": "111111111111",
            "accessKeyId": "ASIA-MOCKACCESSKEYID-1",
          },
        "eventTime": "2024-01-15T10:50:00Z",
        "eventSource": "s3.amazonaws.com",
        "eventName": "PutBucketVersioning",
        "awsRegion": "us-east-1",
        "sourceIPAddress": "1.2.3.4",
        "userAgent": "aws-cli/2.13.0 Python/3.11.4 Linux/5.10.0-1234-aws exe/x86_64.ubuntu.22",
        "requestParameters":
          {
            "bucketName": "critical-data-bucket",
            "host": "critical-data-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com",
            "VersioningConfiguration": { "Status": "Enabled" },
          },
        "responseElements": null,
        "requestID": "ABC123DEF456",
        "eventID": "12345678-1234-1234-1234-777777777777",
        "readOnly": false,
        "eventType": "AwsApiCall",
        "managementEvent": true,
        "recipientAccountId": "111111111111",
      }
  - Name: No Match - MFA Delete Enabled
    ExpectedResult: false
    Log:
      {
        "eventVersion": "1.08",
        "userIdentity":
          {
            "type": "AssumedRole",
            "principalId": "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA:user_name",
            "arn": "arn:aws:sts::111111111111:assumed-role/sample-role-dreamy-yonath/user_name",
            "accountId": "111111111111",
            "accessKeyId": "ASIA-MOCKACCESSKEYID-1",
          },
        "eventTime": "2024-01-15T10:55:00Z",
        "eventSource": "s3.amazonaws.com",
        "eventName": "PutBucketVersioning",
        "awsRegion": "us-east-1",
        "sourceIPAddress": "1.2.3.4",
        "userAgent": "aws-cli/2.13.0 Python/3.11.4 Linux/5.10.0-1234-aws exe/x86_64.ubuntu.22",
        "requestParameters":
          {
            "bucketName": "critical-data-bucket",
            "host": "critical-data-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com",
            "VersioningConfiguration": { "Status": "Enabled", "MfaDelete": "Enabled" },
          },
        "responseElements": null,
        "requestID": "ABC123DEF456",
        "eventID": "12345678-1234-1234-1234-888888888888",
        "readOnly": false,
        "eventType": "AwsApiCall",
        "managementEvent": true,
        "recipientAccountId": "111111111111",
      }
  - Name: No Match - Failed API Call (Access Denied)
    ExpectedResult: false
    Log:
      {
        "eventVersion": "1.08",
        "userIdentity":
          {
            "type": "IAMUser",
            "principalId": "AIDAI23HXS4EXAMPLE",
            "arn": "arn:aws:iam::111111111111:user/testuser",
            "accountId": "111111111111",
            "accessKeyId": "AKIA-MOCKACCESSKEYID-1",
          },
        "eventTime": "2024-01-15T10:45:23Z",
        "eventSource": "s3.amazonaws.com",
        "eventName": "PutBucketLogging",
        "awsRegion": "us-west-2",
        "sourceIPAddress": "1.2.3.4",
        "userAgent": "aws-cli/2.13.0 Python/3.11.4 Linux/5.10.0-1234-aws exe/x86_64.ubuntu.22",
        "errorCode": "AccessDenied",
        "errorMessage": "Access Denied",
        "requestParameters":
          {
            "logging": "",
            "bucketName": "critical-data-bucket",
            "BucketLoggingStatus": { "xmlns": "http://s3.amazonaws.com/doc/2006-03-01/" },
          },
        "responseElements": null,
        "requestID": "ABC123DEF456",
        "eventID": "12345678-1234-1234-1234-999999999999",
        "readOnly": false,
        "eventType": "AwsApiCall",
        "managementEvent": true,
        "recipientAccountId": "111111111111",
      }
  - Name: No Match - Non-S3 Event
    ExpectedResult: false
    Log:
      {
        "eventVersion": "1.08",
        "userIdentity":
          {
            "type": "AssumedRole",
            "principalId": "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA:user_name",
            "arn": "arn:aws:sts::111111111111:assumed-role/AdminRole/user_name",
            "accountId": "111111111111",
            "accessKeyId": "ASIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE",
          },
        "eventTime": "2024-01-15T10:45:23Z",
        "eventSource": "ec2.amazonaws.com",
        "eventName": "PutBucketLogging",
        "awsRegion": "us-east-1",
        "sourceIPAddress": "1.2.3.4",
        "userAgent": "aws-cli/2.13.0 Python/3.11.4 Linux/5.10.0-1234-aws exe/x86_64.ubuntu.22",
        "requestParameters": {},
        "responseElements": null,
        "requestID": "ABC123DEF456",
        "eventID": "12345678-1234-1234-1234-000000000000",
        "readOnly": false,
        "eventType": "AwsApiCall",
        "managementEvent": true,
        "recipientAccountId": "111111111111",
      }

Detection logic

Condition

not (errorCode is_not_null or errorMessage is_not_null)
eventSource eq "s3.amazonaws.com"
(eventName eq "PutBucketLogging" and requestParameters.logging eq "") or (eventName eq "PutBucketVersioning" and (requestParameters.VersioningConfiguration.Status in ["Suspended", "Disabled"] or requestParameters.VersioningConfiguration.MfaDelete eq "Disabled"))

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	`PutBucketLogging` `PutBucketVersioning`
`eventSource`	eq	`s3.amazonaws.com`
`requestParameters.VersioningConfiguration.MfaDelete`	eq	`Disabled`
`requestParameters.VersioningConfiguration.Status`	in	`Disabled` `Suspended`

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`
`bucketName`	`requestParameters.bucketName`
`actor_user`

`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)