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🛡️ AWS EBS Snapshot is publicly accessible🟢

Logic​

Similar Policies​

Description​

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Description​

Ensure that AWS EBS snapshots are not publicly accessible. By default, EBS snapshots are private and should remain so unless there is a specific, justified use case for sharing. Public access to snapshots is generally considered a security risk and is rarely appropriate.

Rational​

When an EBS snapshot is marked as public, it becomes accessible to all AWS accounts, allowing any user to create volumes based on its data. If the snapshot contains confidential or sensitive information, this misconfiguration can result in unintended data exposure and potentially severe security breaches. In most cases, publicly sharing a snapshot is accidental or the result of a misunderstanding of the implications.

Audit​

This policy flags an AWS EBS Snapshot as INCOMPLIANT if the Public Accessible field is set to Yes.

Remediation​

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Remediation​

From Command Line​

To revoke public access to an EBS snapshot, run the following command:

aws ec2 modify-snapshot-attribute \
    --snapshot-id {{snapshot-id}} \
    --attribute createVolumePermission \
    --operation-type remove \
    --group-names all

If you need to share the snapshot with specific AWS accounts (instead of making it public), you can grant access to individual account IDs using:

aws ec2 modify-snapshot-attribute \
    --snapshot-id {{snapshot-id}} \
    --attribute createVolumePermission \
    --operation-type add \
    --user-ids {{123456789012}} {{111122223333}}

Replace {{user-ids}} with the appropriate AWS account IDs.

policy.yaml​

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Linked Framework Sections​

SectionSub SectionsInternal RulesPoliciesFlagsCompliance
💼 AWS Foundational Security Best Practices v1.0.0 → 💼 [EC2.1] Amazon EBS snapshots should not be publicly restorable1no data
💼 Cloudaware Framework → 💼 Public and Anonymous Access101no data
💼 FedRAMP High Security Controls → 💼 AC-3 Access Enforcement (L)(M)(H)3768no data
💼 FedRAMP High Security Controls → 💼 AC-4 Information Flow Enforcement (M)(H)23681no data
💼 FedRAMP High Security Controls → 💼 AC-4(21) Physical or Logical Separation of Information Flows (M)(H)1148no data
💼 FedRAMP High Security Controls → 💼 AC-6 Least Privilege (M)(H)81157no data
💼 FedRAMP High Security Controls → 💼 AC-21 Information Sharing (M)(H)8no data
💼 FedRAMP High Security Controls → 💼 SC-7 Boundary Protection (L)(M)(H)10850no data
💼 FedRAMP High Security Controls → 💼 SC-7(3) Access Points (M)(H)8no data
💼 FedRAMP High Security Controls → 💼 SC-7(4) External Telecommunications Services (M)(H)28no data
💼 FedRAMP High Security Controls → 💼 SC-7(20) Dynamic Isolation and Segregation (H)8no data
💼 FedRAMP High Security Controls → 💼 SC-7(21) Isolation of System Components (H)24no data
💼 FedRAMP Low Security Controls → 💼 AC-3 Access Enforcement (L)(M)(H)68no data
💼 FedRAMP Low Security Controls → 💼 SC-7 Boundary Protection (L)(M)(H)35no data
💼 FedRAMP Moderate Security Controls → 💼 AC-3 Access Enforcement (L)(M)(H)68no data
💼 FedRAMP Moderate Security Controls → 💼 AC-4 Information Flow Enforcement (M)(H)166no data
💼 FedRAMP Moderate Security Controls → 💼 AC-4(21) Physical or Logical Separation of Information Flows (M)(H)48no data
💼 FedRAMP Moderate Security Controls → 💼 AC-6 Least Privilege (M)(H)657no data
💼 FedRAMP Moderate Security Controls → 💼 AC-21 Information Sharing (M)(H)8no data
💼 FedRAMP Moderate Security Controls → 💼 SC-7 Boundary Protection (L)(M)(H)744no data
💼 FedRAMP Moderate Security Controls → 💼 SC-7(3) Access Points (M)(H)8no data
💼 FedRAMP Moderate Security Controls → 💼 SC-7(4) External Telecommunications Services (M)(H)28no data
💼 NIST CSF v2.0 → 💼 DE.CM-01: Networks and network services are monitored to find potentially adverse events145no data
💼 NIST CSF v2.0 → 💼 DE.CM-09: Computing hardware and software, runtime environments, and their data are monitored to find potentially adverse events142no data
💼 NIST CSF v2.0 → 💼 ID.AM-03: Representations of the organization's authorized network communication and internal and external network data flows are maintained69no data
💼 NIST CSF v2.0 → 💼 PR.AA-05: Access permissions, entitlements, and authorizations are defined in a policy, managed, enforced, and reviewed, and incorporate the principles of least privilege and separation of duties116no data
💼 NIST CSF v2.0 → 💼 PR.DS-01: The confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data-at-rest are protected148no data
💼 NIST CSF v2.0 → 💼 PR.DS-02: The confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data-in-transit are protected125no data
💼 NIST CSF v2.0 → 💼 PR.DS-10: The confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data-in-use are protected142no data
💼 NIST CSF v2.0 → 💼 PR.IR-01: Networks and environments are protected from unauthorized logical access and usage95no data
💼 NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 → 💼 AC-3 Access Enforcement15540no data
💼 NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 → 💼 AC-3(7) Access Enforcement _ Role-based Access Control14no data
💼 NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 → 💼 AC-4 Information Flow Enforcement326891no data
💼 NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 → 💼 AC-4(21) Information Flow Enforcement _ Physical or Logical Separation of Information Flows3748no data
💼 NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 → 💼 AC-6 Least Privilege102350no data
💼 NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 → 💼 AC-21 Information Sharing28no data
💼 NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 → 💼 SC-7 Boundary Protection29452no data
💼 NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 → 💼 SC-7(3) Boundary Protection _ Access Points8no data
💼 NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 → 💼 SC-7(4) Boundary Protection _ External Telecommunications Services28no data
💼 NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 → 💼 SC-7(9) Boundary Protection _ Restrict Threatening Outgoing Communications Traffic14no data
💼 NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 → 💼 SC-7(11) Boundary Protection _ Restrict Incoming Communications Traffic24no data
💼 NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 → 💼 SC-7(16) Boundary Protection _ Prevent Discovery of System Components25no data
💼 NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 → 💼 SC-7(20) Boundary Protection _ Dynamic Isolation and Segregation8no data
💼 NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 → 💼 SC-7(21) Boundary Protection _ Isolation of System Components24no data
💼 PCI DSS v3.2.1 → 💼 1.2.1 Restrict inbound and outbound traffic to that which is necessary for the cardholder data environment, and specifically deny all other traffic.1056no data
💼 PCI DSS v3.2.1 → 💼 1.3.1 Implement a DMZ to limit inbound traffic to only system components that provide authorized publicly accessible services, protocols, and ports.620no data
💼 PCI DSS v3.2.1 → 💼 1.3.2 Limit inbound Internet traffic to IP addresses within the DMZ.20no data
💼 PCI DSS v3.2.1 → 💼 1.3.4 Do not allow unauthorized outbound traffic from the cardholder data environment to the Internet.7no data
💼 PCI DSS v3.2.1 → 💼 1.3.5 Permit only “established” connections into the network.20no data
💼 PCI DSS v3.2.1 → 💼 7.2.1 Coverage of all system components.7no data
💼 PCI DSS v4.0.1 → 💼 1.3.1 Inbound traffic to the CDE is restricted.56no data
💼 PCI DSS v4.0.1 → 💼 1.3.2 Outbound traffic from the CDE is restricted.56no data
💼 PCI DSS v4.0.1 → 💼 1.4.2 Inbound traffic from untrusted networks to trusted networks is restricted.20no data
💼 PCI DSS v4.0.1 → 💼 7.3.1 An access control system(s) is in place that restricts access based on a user's need to know and covers all system components.7no data
💼 PCI DSS v4.0 → 💼 1.3.1 Inbound traffic to the CDE is restricted.756no data
💼 PCI DSS v4.0 → 💼 1.3.2 Outbound traffic from the CDE is restricted.56no data
💼 PCI DSS v4.0 → 💼 1.4.2 Inbound traffic from untrusted networks to trusted networks is restricted.720no data
💼 PCI DSS v4.0 → 💼 7.3.1 An access control system(s) is in place that restricts access based on a user's need to know and covers all system components.7no data