IAM trust policies provide enterprises with appropriate identities, access, and privileges to safely operate a cloud-based system. However, without proper security measures, IAM policies may become misconfigured, leading to a significant risk of data breaches and exploitation.
Misconfigured IAM trust policies may result from overly permissive practices, where almost any identity can freely access privileged data within the cloud. With misconfigured IAM trust policies, an identity may assume a role within the database and obtain an access token.
A cloud data breach may worsen due to the application of IaC (infrastructure as code), where data management involves machine-readable definitions rather than physical configurations. While IaC enables enterprises to execute quality large-scale application deployment in record time, the process also makes it easier to escalate an account vulnerability.
For example, a user who applies a Terraform (IaC) template in the management and provision of services across production, development, and government clouds will replicate existing misconfiguration vulnerabilities across multiple roles and accounts. Therefore, under such a scenario, a misconfigured trust policy that compromises a single role may multiply and spread like wildfire across the roles within other cloud platforms.
The Ramifications of Misconfigured IAM Trust Policies
Misconfigured IAM trust policies may assume many forms, with one prominent example being trusted entities of roles defined as “accounts.” Under the misconfiguration, every user within a cloud platform has unguarded access to these roles, and the permissions attached to them. For instance, every account has immediate access to Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), S3, and Key Management Service (KMS) within AWS.
With misconfigured IAM trust policies, malicious actors can identify vulnerabilities, bypass role permission perimeters, move laterally through adjoining S3 buckets, and obtain full access to sensitive data within the cloud. A single misconfiguration could cause severe repercussions in compromised databases and data containers.
Methods of Cloud Account Exploitation
Malicious parties may manipulate account misconfigurations through systematic methods and processes. Misconfigurations lead to account vulnerabilities that enable them to launch various organized attacks on precious enterprise resources.
Step 1. Reconnaissance and Enumeration
Many role names are short and predictable. As a result, malicous actors may locate a misconfigured role by attempting various permutations (e.g., prodApp-nat, prodApp-app2-nat).
Step 2. Procure Temporary Access
The actor can proceed to acquire a temporary access token linked to a misconfigured role. Malicious parties may use the access token to enumerate permissions and discover accessible resources.
Step 3. Assess Server Instances
They will have access to view server (i.e., EC2) instances and exploit attached metadata. The malicious parties can obtain valuable information (such as docker from the startup script of virtual machines (VMs)), including docker images, database queries, and accessed S3 buckets.
Step 4. Access Data
Malicious parties may hack the S3 buckets within the server to download and manipulate confidential data such as certificate keys, application shell scripts, and encrypted files with privileged credentials.
Step 5. Decode Credentials
Hackers can utilize the AWS KMS decrypt capability attached to the misconfigured role to convert the encrypted credentials within the S3 buckets into plaintext.
Step 6. Engage in Full-on Cloud Infiltration
The acquired plaintext credentials provide unauthorized parties with a “master key,” enabling them to move laterally and access the Docker Hub repository, Splunk server, and databases, gaining control of enterprise resources.
Avoid Misconfigured IAM Trust Policies with a Trusted Solution
Enterprises can reduce the risks of misconfigured IAM trust policies by keeping users well-informed of the latest cloud practices and regulations. However, for truly effective deterrence against these risks, enterprises should consider implementing a cloud security solution that continuously monitors every identity (human and non-human), their effective permissions, and data access privileges to maintain the principle of least privilege. This means any mistakes or drift from policies is caught straight away.
Sonrai Security delivers an enterprise identity and data governance platform for AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and Kubernetes. The Sonrai Dig platform is built on a sophisticated graph that identifies and monitors every possible relationship between identities and data that exists inside an organization’s public cloud. Dig’s Governance Automation Engine automates workflow, remediation, and prevention capabilities across cloud and security teams to ensure end-to-end security. Dig enables the safest practices by sustaining identity governance through a detailed graphing technology that de-risks cloud environments without exceptions.
Eliminate risks with Sonrai Security as your trusted ally.
The post Identity Risk: Identifying a Misconfigured IAM Trust Policy appeared first on Sonrai Security.
*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from Blog – Sonrai Security authored by Eric Kedrosky. Read the original post at: https://sonraisecurity.com/blog/misconfigured-iam-trust-policy/
