Glue Data Catalog resource policy is not public

Check ID: glue_data_catalogs_not_publicly_accessible
Provider: AWS
Service: glue
Severity: HIGH
Categories: internet-exposed
Resource type: Other

What this check verifies

AWS Glue Data Catalog resource policies are assessed for configurations that expose the catalog to anyone, such as Principal: *, broad resource scopes, or permissive conditions. The finding highlights catalogs made public through overly permissive resource-based access.

Risk

Public catalog access lets unauthorized actors enumerate schemas, S3 locations, and connection metadata, weakening confidentiality. If writes are exposed, attackers can alter databases/tables, corrupt lineage, and disrupt jobs and queries, harming integrity and availability, and enabling lateral movement to data stores.

Recommendation

Enforce least privilege on catalog resource policies:

Avoid Principal: * and wildcards
Grant only required actions to explicit principals
Prefer identity-based access or Lake Formation for sharing
Limit scope with precise ARNs/conditions and monitor changes for defense in depth

Remediation

CLI
Terraform
Dashboard steps

aws glue delete-resource-policy

resource "aws_glue_resource_policy" "<example_resource_name>" {
  policy = jsonencode({
    Version   = "2012-10-17",
    Statement = [
      {
        Effect    = "Allow",
        Principal = { AWS = "arn:aws:iam::<ACCOUNT_ID>:root" } # Critical: restricts to your account, removing any public (*) access
        Action    = "glue:*",
        Resource  = "arn:aws:glue:<REGION>:<ACCOUNT_ID>:catalog"
      }
    ]
  })
}

References

Where this check fires

This check runs on every scheduled scan against your AWS account. Findings appear at Cloud Security → Findings filterable by Check ID = glue_data_catalogs_not_publicly_accessible. To re-evaluate after a fix, hit Run now on the account’s schedule under Cloud Security → Schedules — the next scan re-checks this control and marks the finding fixed or keeps it persistent.

← Back to AWS checks

Glue Data Catalog metadata is encrypted with KMS Glue connection has SSL enabled

​What this check verifies

​Risk

​Recommendation

​Remediation

​References

​Where this check fires

What this check verifies

Risk

Recommendation

Remediation

References

Where this check fires