Detection: aws detect attach to role policy

REMOVED DETECTION

This detection has been removed from the Splunk Threat Research content library and is no longer maintained or supported.

Reason: Detection deprecated as it no longer effectively identifies the intended malicious activity

Removed in version: 5.4.0

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us at research@splunk.com.

Updated Date: 2026-05-13 ID: 88fc31dd-f331-448c-9856-d3d51dd5d3a1 Author: Rod Soto, Splunk Type: Hunting Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The following analytic identifies a user attaching a policy to a different role's trust policy in AWS. It leverages CloudWatch logs to detect the attach policy event, extracting relevant fields such as policyArn, sourceIPAddress, and userIdentity. This activity is significant as it can indicate attempts at lateral movement or privilege escalation within the AWS environment. If confirmed malicious, an attacker could gain elevated permissions, potentially compromising sensitive resources and data within the AWS infrastructure.

Search

1`aws_cloudwatchlogs_eks` attach policy
2| spath requestParameters.policyArn 
3| table sourceIPAddress user_access_key userIdentity.arn userIdentity.sessionContext.sessionIssuer.arn eventName errorCode errorMessage status action requestParameters.policyArn userIdentity.sessionContext.attributes.mfaAuthenticated userIdentity.sessionContext.attributes.creationDate  
4| `aws_detect_attach_to_role_policy_filter`

Data Source

No data sources specified for this detection.

Macros Used

Name	Value
aws_cloudwatchlogs_eks	`sourcetype="aws:cloudwatchlogs:eks"`
aws_detect_attach_to_role_policy_filter	``

aws_detect_attach_to_role_policy_filter is an empty macro by default. It allows the user to filter out any results (false positives) without editing the SPL.

Annotations

- MITRE ATT&CK

+ Kill Chain Phases

+ NIST

+ CIS

- Threat Actors

ID	Technique	Tactic
T1078	Valid Accounts	Initial Access

Default Configuration

This detection is configured by default in Splunk Enterprise Security to run with the following settings:

Setting	Value
Disabled	true
Cron Schedule	`N/A`
Earliest Time	`N/A`
Latest Time	`N/A`
Schedule Window	`N/A`
Creates Finding (Notable)	No
Creates Intermediate Finding (Risk Event)	No

Hunting detections do not generate a Finding (Notable) or Intermediate Findings (Risk Events).

Implementation

You must install splunk AWS add-on and Splunk App for AWS. This search works with cloudwatch logs

Known False Positives

Attach to policy can create a lot of noise. This search can be adjusted to provide specific values to identify cases of abuse (i.e status=failure). The search can provide context for common users attaching themselves to higher privilege policies or even newly created policies.

Associated Analytic Story

AWS Cross Account Activity

Detection Testing

Test Type	Status	Dataset	Source	Sourcetype
Validation	Not Applicable	N/A	N/A	N/A
Unit	Not Applicable	N/A	`N/A`	`N/A`

Replay any dataset to Splunk Enterprise by using our replay.py tool or the UI. Alternatively you can replay a dataset into a Splunk Attack Range

Source: GitHub |

Version: 5