Check ID:
Provider: AWS
Service:
Severity: CRITICAL
Categories:
Resource type:
sqs_queues_not_publicly_accessibleProvider: AWS
Service:
sqsSeverity: CRITICAL
Categories:
internet-exposedResource type:
AwsSqsQueueWhat this check verifies
Amazon SQS queue policies are assessed for public access. The finding highlights queues withAllow statements using a wildcard Principal without restrictive conditions, compared to queues that only grant access to the owning account or explicitly trusted principals.
Risk
Public SQS access can expose message data (confidentiality), enable unauthorized send/receive or tampering (integrity), and allow purge/delete operations that disrupt processing (availability). It may also trigger unbounded message ingestion, causing cost spikes and consumer overload.Recommendation
Apply least privilege on SQS resource policies:- Avoid
Principal: *; grant access only to specific accounts, roles, or services - Add restrictive conditions to tightly scope access
- Prefer private connectivity and defense-in-depth controls
- Review policies and audit activity regularly to prevent drift
Remediation
- CLI
- Terraform
- Native IaC
- Dashboard steps
References
- https://www.trendmicro.com/trendaivisiononecloudriskmanagement/knowledge-base/aws/SQS/sqs-queue-exposed.html
- https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSSimpleQueueService/latest/SQSDeveloperGuide/sqs-basic-examples-of-sqs-policies.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 = sqs_queues_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.
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