Detection rules › Splunk
AWS Bedrock Invoke Model Access Denied
The following analytic identifies access denied error when attempting to invoke AWS Bedrock models. It leverages AWS CloudTrail logs to detect when a user or service receives an AccessDenied error when calling the InvokeModel API. This activity is significant as it may indicate an adversary attempting to access Bedrock models with insufficient permissions after compromising credentials. If confirmed malicious, this could suggest reconnaissance activities or privilege escalation attempts targeting generative AI resources, potentially leading to data exfiltration or manipulation of model outputs.
Known false positives
- Legitimate users may encounter access denied errors during permission testing, role transitions, or when service permissions are being reconfigured. Access denials may also happen when automated processes are using outdated credentials or when new Bedrock features are being explored.
MITRE ATT&CK coverage
| Tactic | Techniques |
|---|---|
| Initial Access | |
| Persistence | |
| Privilege Escalation | |
| Stealth | |
| Lateral Movement |
Telemetry coverage
Rules detecting the same action
These rules filter on the same operation.
Rule body
name: AWS Bedrock Invoke Model Access Denied
id: c53a8e62-f741-11ee-9f6e-acde48001122
version: 6
creation_date: '2025-03-25'
modification_date: '2026-05-13'
author: Bhavin Patel, Splunk
status: production
type: TTP
description: The following analytic identifies access denied error when attempting to invoke AWS Bedrock models. It leverages AWS CloudTrail logs to detect when a user or service receives an AccessDenied error when calling the InvokeModel API. This activity is significant as it may indicate an adversary attempting to access Bedrock models with insufficient permissions after compromising credentials. If confirmed malicious, this could suggest reconnaissance activities or privilege escalation attempts targeting generative AI resources, potentially leading to data exfiltration or manipulation of model outputs.
data_source:
- AWS CloudTrail
search: >-
`cloudtrail` eventSource=bedrock.amazonaws.com eventName=InvokeModel errorCode=AccessDenied
| rename user_name as user
| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(requestParameters.modelId) as modelIds by src user user_agent vendor_account vendor_product dest signature vendor_region result result_id
| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
| `aws_bedrock_invoke_model_access_denied_filter`
how_to_implement: The Splunk AWS Add-on is required to utilize this data. The search requires AWS CloudTrail logs with Bedrock service events enabled. You must install and configure the AWS App for Splunk (version 6.0.0 or later) and Splunk Add-on for AWS (version 5.1.0 or later) to collect CloudTrail logs from AWS.
known_false_positives: Legitimate users may encounter access denied errors during permission testing, role transitions, or when service permissions are being reconfigured. Access denials may also happen when automated processes are using outdated credentials or when new Bedrock features are being explored.
references:
- https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/APIReference/API_ListFoundationModels.html
- https://trustoncloud.com/blog/exposing-the-weakness-how-we-identified-a-flaw-in-bedrocks-foundation-model-access-control/
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1595/
finding:
title: User $user$ access denied when attempting to invoke AWS Bedrock models from $src$
entity:
field: user
type: user
score: 50
threat_objects:
- field: src
type: ip_address
analytic_story:
- AWS Bedrock Security
asset_type: AWS Account
mitre_attack_id:
- T1078
- T1550
product:
- Splunk Enterprise
- Splunk Enterprise Security
- Splunk Cloud
category: cloud
security_domain: threat
Stages and Predicates
Stage 1: search
`cloudtrail` eventSource=bedrock.amazonaws.com eventName=InvokeModel errorCode=AccessDenied
Stage 2: rename
| rename user_name as user
Stage 3: stats
| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(requestParameters.modelId) as modelIds by src user user_agent vendor_account vendor_product dest signature vendor_region result result_id
Stage 4: search
| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
Stage 5: search
| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
Stage 6: search
| `aws_bedrock_invoke_model_access_denied_filter`
Indicators
These rows show field, operator, and value matches.
| Field | Kind | Values | Search |
|---|---|---|---|
errorCode | eq |
| field:"aws::errorCode" kind:eq value:"AccessDenied" |
eventName | eq |
| field:"aws::eventName" kind:eq value:"InvokeModel" |
eventSource | eq |
| field:"aws::eventSource" kind:eq value:"bedrock.amazonaws.com" |
sourcetype | eq |
| field:"sourcetype" kind:eq value:"aws:cloudtrail" |