/detecting-aws-iam-privilege-escalation

name: detecting-aws-iam-privilege-escalation
description: Detect AWS IAM privilege escalation paths using boto3 and Cloudsplaining policy analysis to identify overly permissive
  policies, dangerous permission combinations, and least-privilege violations
domain: cybersecurity
subdomain: cloud-security
tags:
- aws
- iam
- privilege-escalation
- cloudsplaining
- boto3
- policy-analysis
- least-privilege
version: '1.0'
author: mahipal
license: Apache-2.0
nist_csf:
- PR.IR-01
- ID.AM-08
- GV.SC-06
- DE.CM-01

Detecting AWS IAM Privilege Escalation

Overview

This skill uses boto3 and Cloudsplaining-style analysis to identify IAM privilege escalation paths in AWS accounts. It downloads the account authorization details, analyzes each policy for dangerous permission combinations (iam:PassRole + lambda:CreateFunction, iam:CreatePolicyVersion, sts:AssumeRole), and flags policies that violate least-privilege principles.

When to Use

• When investigating security incidents that require detecting aws iam privilege escalation
• When building detection rules or threat hunting queries for this domain
• When SOC analysts need structured procedures for this analysis type
• When validating security monitoring coverage for related attack techniques

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+ with boto3 library
• AWS credentials with IAM read-only access (iam:GetAccountAuthorizationDetails)
• Optional: cloudsplaining Python package for HTML report generation

Steps

1. **Download IAM Authorization Details** — Call iam:GetAccountAuthorizationDetails to retrieve all users, groups, roles, and policies 2. **Analyze Policies for Privilege Escalation** — Check each policy for known escalation permission combinations 3. **Identify Wildcard Resource Policies** — Flag policies using Resource: "*" with dangerous actions 4. **Map Principal-to-Policy Relationships** — Build a graph of which principals can access which escalation paths 5. **Score and Prioritize Findings** — Rank findings by severity based on escalation vector type 6. **Generate Report** — Produce structured JSON report with remediation guidance

Expected Output

• JSON report of privilege escalation findings with severity scores
• List of dangerous permission combinations per principal
• Wildcard resource policy audit results
• Remediation recommendations for each finding