Authorization bypass due to full administrative IAM permissions in AWS policy

Critical Risk infrastructure-security

What it is

Authorization bypass can let attackers assume administrative roles, escalate privileges, and access or modify any AWS resources, including disabling logging and exfiltrating data.

Why it happens

Attaching the AWS-managed AdministratorAccess policy or creating custom policies with Action: * and Resource: *.

Root causes

Full Admin Policy Assignment

Attaching the AWS-managed AdministratorAccess policy or creating custom policies with Action: * and Resource: *.

Break-Glass Account Pattern

Creating 'emergency access' IAM users or roles with full admin permissions without time-limited or conditional access.

Quick Permission Grants

Granting full admin to quickly unblock work without analyzing actual required permissions.

Fixes

1

Apply Least Privilege Principles

Replace admin policies with specific, scoped permissions for only the actions and resources actually needed.

2

Use IAM Access Analyzer

Enable IAM Access Analyzer to generate least-privilege policies based on CloudTrail activity logs.

3

Implement Permission Boundaries

Use IAM permission boundaries to set maximum permissions that users/roles cannot exceed, even with admin policies.

Detect This Vulnerability in Your Code

Sourcery automatically identifies authorization bypass due to full administrative iam permissions in aws policy and many other security issues in your codebase.

Scan Your Code for Free Explore More Vulnerabilities