Check ID:
Provider: AWS
Service:
Severity: HIGH
Categories:
Resource type:
iam_customer_attached_policy_no_administrative_privilegesProvider: AWS
Service:
iamSeverity: HIGH
Categories:
identity-accessResource type:
AwsIamPolicyWhat this check verifies
Attached customer-managed IAM policies are evaluated for statements granting full admin access viaAction: "*", Resource: "*", i.e., *:*. Only policies you created and attached to identities are considered.
Risk
Unrestricted admin access lets any attached principal perform any action on any resource, enabling data exfiltration, policy tampering, credential creation, logging disablement, and destructive deletions-compromising confidentiality, integrity, and availability across the account.Recommendation
Enforce least privilege: replace wildcards with specific actions, scopeResource to needed ARNs, and add restrictive Conditions. Prefer role-based access and separation of duties. Use permissions boundaries and organization guardrails, and regularly review policies with policy validation and Access Analyzer.
Remediation
- CLI
- Terraform
- Native IaC
- Dashboard steps
References
- https://www.trendmicro.com/trendaivisiononecloudriskmanagement/knowledge-base/aws/IAM/iam-policy-for-administration.html
- http://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/best-practices.html
Where this check fires
This check runs on every scheduled scan against your AWS account. Findings appear at Cloud Security → Findings filterable byCheck ID = iam_customer_attached_policy_no_administrative_privileges. 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.
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