Detection: IAM User Managed Policy Attached

Overview

Detect when a managed policy was attached to an IAM user. Attaching managed policies directly to users bypasses group-based access control mechanisms, making permissions harder to manage and audit. Over-permissioned policies increase the risk of privilege escalation, unauthorized access, or accidental resource modifications. Monitoring these actions ensures adherence to best practices, such as using IAM groups for permissions management and enforcing the principle of least privilege.

References:

Usage

Run the detection in your terminal:

powerpipe detection run aws_cloudtrail_log_detections.detection.iam_user_managed_policy_attached

Snapshot and share results via Turbot Pipes:

powerpipe login
powerpipe detection run aws_cloudtrail_log_detections.detection.iam_user_managed_policy_attached --share

SQL

This detection uses a named query:

select
  tp_timestamp as timestamp,
string_split(event_source, '.')[1] || ':' || event_name as operation,
request_parameters ->> 'userName' as resource,
user_identity.arn as actor,
tp_source_ip as source_ip,
tp_index as account_id,
aws_region as region,
tp_id as source_id,
*

from
  aws_cloudtrail_log
where
  event_source = 'iam.amazonaws.com'
  and event_name = 'AttachUserPolicy'
  and error_code is null

order by
  event_time desc;

Detection: IAM User Managed Policy Attached

Overview

Usage

SQL

Tags