AWS WAF Managed SQL Database Passthrough Rule

Severity: high
Log types: AWS.WAFWebACL
Tags: AWS, WAF, Managed Rules, Initial Access:Exploit Public-Facing Application
Reference: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/waf/latest/developerguide/aws-managed-rule-groups-use-case.html
Source: github.com/panther-labs/panther-analysis

Detects AWS WAF SQL Database managed rule group matches. Covers SQL injection patterns in query arguments, request body, cookies, and URI path, including extended patterns not covered by the Core Rule Set.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Initial Access	`T1190` Exploit Public-Facing Application

Rule body yaml

AnalysisType: rule
Filename: aws_waf_managed_sql_database.py
RuleID: "AWS.WAF.Managed.SQLDatabase"
DisplayName: "AWS WAF Managed SQL Database Passthrough Rule"
Enabled: true
LogTypes:
  - AWS.WAFWebACL
Tags:
  - AWS
  - WAF
  - Managed Rules
  - Initial Access:Exploit Public-Facing Application
Reports:
  MITRE ATT&CK:
    - TA0001:T1190
Severity: High
Description: >
  Detects AWS WAF SQL Database managed rule group matches. Covers SQL injection patterns in
  query arguments, request body, cookies, and URI path, including extended patterns not covered
  by the Core Rule Set.
Runbook: |
  1. Find all WAF log entries from httpRequest:clientIp in the 6 hours before and after this alert to identify SQL injection attempts across multiple endpoints
  2. Check if httpRequest:clientIp appears in threat intelligence feeds or is associated with known automated scanning tools
  3. If the action was ALLOW, search application and database logs for the targeted httpRequest:uri in the 1 hour after the alert to determine if injection was successful
Reference: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/waf/latest/developerguide/aws-managed-rule-groups-use-case.html
Tests:
  - Name: SQLi blocked via terminatingRuleId
    ExpectedResult: true
    Log:
      timestamp: "2024-03-20T10:30:00.000Z"
      webaclId: "arn:aws:wafv2:us-east-1:123456789012:regional/webacl/test/a1b2c3d4"
      terminatingRuleId: "AWS-AWSManagedRulesSQLiRuleSet"
      terminatingRuleType: "MANAGED_RULE_GROUP"
      action: "BLOCK"
      httpSourceName: "ALB"
      httpRequest:
        clientIp: "203.0.113.45"
        country: "US"
        uri: "/api/search"
        httpMethod: "GET"

  - Name: SQLi in query arguments via ruleGroupList
    ExpectedResult: true
    Log:
      timestamp: "2024-03-20T10:35:00.000Z"
      webaclId: "arn:aws:wafv2:us-east-1:123456789012:regional/webacl/test/a1b2c3d4"
      terminatingRuleId: "AWS-AWSManagedRulesSQLiRuleSet"
      action: "BLOCK"
      httpSourceName: "ALB"
      httpRequest:
        clientIp: "198.51.100.22"
        country: "CN"
        uri: "/api/users?id=1 OR 1=1"
        httpMethod: "GET"
      ruleGroupList:
        - ruleGroupId: "AWS#AWSManagedRulesSQLiRuleSet"
          terminatingRule:
            ruleId: "SQLi_QUERYARGUMENTS"
            action: "BLOCK"

  - Name: Extended SQLi pattern in body non-terminating (COUNT mode)
    ExpectedResult: true
    Log:
      timestamp: "2024-03-20T10:40:00.000Z"
      webaclId: "arn:aws:wafv2:us-east-1:123456789012:regional/webacl/test/a1b2c3d4"
      terminatingRuleId: "Default_Action"
      action: "ALLOW"
      httpSourceName: "APIGW"
      httpRequest:
        clientIp: "192.0.2.100"
        country: "RU"
        uri: "/api/login"
        httpMethod: "POST"
      ruleGroupList:
        - ruleGroupId: "AWS#AWSManagedRulesSQLiRuleSet"
          nonTerminatingMatchingRules:
            - ruleId: "SQLiExtendedPatterns_BODY"
              action: "COUNT"

  - Name: SQLi in cookie header
    ExpectedResult: true
    Log:
      timestamp: "2024-03-20T10:45:00.000Z"
      webaclId: "arn:aws:wafv2:us-east-1:123456789012:regional/webacl/test/a1b2c3d4"
      terminatingRuleId: "AWS-AWSManagedRulesSQLiRuleSet"
      action: "BLOCK"
      httpSourceName: "CF"
      httpRequest:
        clientIp: "203.0.113.99"
        country: "BR"
        uri: "/dashboard"
        httpMethod: "GET"
      ruleGroupList:
        - ruleGroupId: "AWS#AWSManagedRulesSQLiRuleSet"
          terminatingRule:
            ruleId: "SQLi_COOKIE"
            action: "BLOCK"

  - Name: Different rule group - no alert
    ExpectedResult: false
    Log:
      timestamp: "2024-03-20T10:50:00.000Z"
      webaclId: "arn:aws:wafv2:us-east-1:123456789012:regional/webacl/test/a1b2c3d4"
      terminatingRuleId: "AWS-AWSManagedRulesCommonRuleSet"
      action: "BLOCK"
      httpSourceName: "ALB"
      httpRequest:
        clientIp: "203.0.113.45"

  - Name: Normal traffic - no alert
    ExpectedResult: false
    Log:
      timestamp: "2024-03-20T10:55:00.000Z"
      webaclId: "arn:aws:wafv2:us-east-1:123456789012:regional/webacl/test/a1b2c3d4"
      terminatingRuleId: "Default_Action"
      action: "ALLOW"
      httpSourceName: "ALB"
      httpRequest:
        clientIp: "198.51.100.10"

DedupPeriodMinutes: 60
Threshold: 1

Detection logic

Condition

nonTerminatingMatchingRules array_any or ruleGroupList array_any

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

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
`matched_rule`	`terminatingRuleId`
`client_ip`	`httpRequest.clientIp`
`country`	`httpRequest.country`
`http_method`	`httpRequest.httpMethod`
`uri`	`httpRequest.uri`
`action`
`source`	`httpSourceName`
`source_id`	`httpSourceId`
`terminating_rule_id`	`terminatingRuleId`
`terminating_rule_type`	`terminatingRuleType`

`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)