Aws Ec2 Multiple Ssh Public Keys Uploaded
Description
AWS CloudTrail events generated by an AWS identity making 12 successful EC2 Instance Connect SendSSHPublicKey API calls against an EC2 instance within approximately 14 seconds. EC2 Instance Connect uses the AWS control plane to make an ephemeral SSH public key available to an operating-system user, enabling direct SSH access to the virtual machine. A burst of these events may indicate automated access attempts or lateral movement using compromised AWS credentials. Sensitive account, identity, instance, network, public-key, and region values were replaced with synthetic values.
MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
| ID | Technique | Tactic |
|---|---|---|
| T1021.004 | SSH | Lateral Movement |
| T1021.008 | T1021.008 | Multiple |
Environment Details
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Environment | attack_range |
| Directory | aws_ec2_multiple_ssh_public_keys_uploaded |
| Test Date | 2026-09-29 |
Datasets
The following datasets were collected during this attack simulation:
Aws_ec2_multiple_ssh_public_keys_uploaded-Json
- Path:
/datasets/attack_techniques/T1021.008/aws_ec2_multiple_ssh_public_keys_uploaded/aws_ec2_multiple_ssh_public_keys_uploaded.json - Sourcetype:
aws:cloudtrail - Source:
aws_cloudtrail
Related Detections
No specific detections currently use this attack data for testing. However, you can find related detections and analytics in our security content repository.
Usage Instructions
Replay with Splunk Attack Data
Replay attack data with replay.py from Splunk Attack Data.
1python replay.py --dataset /datasets/attack_techniques/T1021.008/aws_ec2_multiple_ssh_public_keys_uploaded/aws_ec2_multiple_ssh_public_keys_uploaded.json --index attack_data
Manual Import
- Download the dataset files from the paths listed above
- Configure your Splunk instance with the appropriate sourcetypes
- Import the logs using the Splunk Add Data wizard
Related Content
Find more detections and analytics for this attack technique in our security content repository.
Source: GitHub | Version: 1.0