Amazon SageMaker notebook instance has root access disabled

Check ID: sagemaker_notebook_instance_root_access_disabled
Provider: AWS
Service: sagemaker
Severity: MEDIUM
Categories: identity-access, gen-ai
Resource type: AwsSageMakerNotebookInstance

What this check verifies

Amazon SageMaker notebook instances with user root access disabled. The evaluation checks whether interactive users can obtain root privileges on the instance, highlighting notebooks where RootAccess is not set to Disabled.

Risk

Allowing user root access enables full system control, risking integrity (tampering with code, packages, and kernels), confidentiality (reading secrets, credentials, data copies), and availability (disabling agents or breaking environments). Compromise of a notebook can lead to lateral movement via the instance role.

Recommendation

Apply least privilege: set RootAccess to Disabled for notebook users. Provide needed software via managed images or lifecycle automation, not ad-hoc root installs. Limit the notebook IAM role, enforce defense in depth (network isolation and monitoring), and require controlled admin workflows for privileged changes.

Remediation

CLI
Terraform
Native IaC
Dashboard steps

aws sagemaker update-notebook-instance —notebook-instance-name <example_resource_name> —root-access Disabled

# Terraform: Disable root access on a SageMaker Notebook Instance
resource "aws_sagemaker_notebook_instance" "notebook" {
  name          = "<example_resource_name>"
  role_arn      = "<example_role_arn>"
  instance_type = "ml.t3.medium"
  root_access   = "Disabled"  # Critical: disables user root access to pass the check
}

# CloudFormation: Disable root access on a SageMaker Notebook Instance
Resources:
  Notebook:
    Type: AWS::SageMaker::NotebookInstance
    Properties:
      InstanceType: ml.t3.medium
      RoleArn: <example_role_arn>
      RootAccess: Disabled  # Critical: disables user root access to pass the check

References

https://docs.aws.amazon.com/sagemaker/latest/dg/nbi-root-access.html

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 = sagemaker_notebook_instance_root_access_disabled. 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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