AWS IAM Failure Group Deletion
Description
The following analytic identifies failed attempts to delete AWS IAM groups. It leverages AWS CloudTrail logs to detect events where the DeleteGroup action fails due to errors like NoSuchEntityException, DeleteConflictException, or AccessDenied. This activity is significant as it may indicate unauthorized attempts to modify IAM group configurations, which could be a precursor to privilege escalation or other malicious actions. If confirmed malicious, this could allow an attacker to disrupt IAM policies, potentially leading to unauthorized access or denial of service within the AWS environment.
Query · spl
`cloudtrail` eventSource=iam.amazonaws.com eventName=DeleteGroup errorCode IN (NoSuchEntityException,DeleteConflictException, AccessDenied) (userAgent!=*.amazonaws.com)
| rename user_name as user
| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime
BY signature dest user
user_agent src vendor_account
vendor_region vendor_product
| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
| `aws_iam_failure_group_deletion_filter`
Implementation guide
The Splunk AWS Add-on and Splunk App for AWS is required to utilize this data. The search requires AWS CloudTrail logs.
Known false positives
- This detection will require tuning to provide high fidelity detection capabilties. Tune based on src addresses (corporate offices, VPN terminations) or by groups of users. Not every user with AWS access should have permission to delete groups (least privilege).
Analyst notes
Known false positives: This detection will require tuning to provide high fidelity detection capabilties. Tune based on src addresses (corporate offices, VPN terminations) or by groups of users. Not every user with AWS access should have permission to delete groups (least privilege).