Skip to main content

πŸ›‘οΈ AWS S3 Bucket ACL allows public read or write access🟒

  • Contextual name: πŸ›‘οΈ Bucket ACL allows public read or write access🟒
  • ID: /ce/ca/aws/s3/bucket-public-acl
  • Tags:
  • Policy Type: COMPLIANCE_POLICY
  • Policy Categories: SECURITY

Stats​

not available

Logic​

Similar Policies​

Description​

Open File

Description​

This policy identifies AWS S3 Buckets that do not have Block Public ACLs enabled and whose Access Control Lists (ACLs) grant such public permissions as READ, WRITE, READ_ACP, WRITE_ACP, or FULL_CONTROL. Access is considered public if any of these permissions are granted to either the AllUsers group (anyone on the Internet) or the AuthenticatedUsers group (any AWS account holder).

Rationale​

Granting public access through ACLs poses a serious security risk. Public read access can lead to unintentional exposure of sensitive data, while public write access may allow unauthorized users to modify, delete, or upload objects. Such exposure can result in data breaches, service disruptions, or unexpected costs due to malicious uploads or misuse.

Audit​

This policy flags an AWS S3 Bucket as INCOMPLIANT if:

  • Block Public ACLs is not set to Yes, and
  • The Access Control Policy grants any of the following permissions: READ, WRITE, READ_ACP, WRITE_ACP, or FULL_CONTROL to either grantee:

... see more

Remediation​

Open File

Remediation​

Disable Public Access for S3 Bucket ACL​

Enable S3 Block Public Access​

Enabling Block Public Access provides a centralized and comprehensive mechanism to prevent public access to your S3 buckets. These settings override any existing ACLs or bucket policies that might otherwise allow public access.

From Command Line​

To enable Block Public Access on the bucket, run the following command:

aws s3api put-public-access-block \
    --bucket {{bucket-name}} \
    --public-access-block-configuration "BlockPublicAcls=true,IgnorePublicAcls=true,BlockPublicPolicy=true,RestrictPublicBuckets=true"
Apply the private Canned ACL​

Applying the private canned ACL removes all public access grants and ensures that only the bucket owner has full control.

aws s3api put-bucket-acl \
    --bucket {{bucket-name}} \
    --acl private

policy.yaml​

Open File

Linked Framework Sections​

SectionSub SectionsInternal RulesPoliciesFlagsCompliance
πŸ’Ό AWS Foundational Security Best Practices v1.0.0 β†’ πŸ’Ό [S3.2] S3 general purpose buckets should block public read access2no data
πŸ’Ό AWS Foundational Security Best Practices v1.0.0 β†’ πŸ’Ό [S3.3] S3 general purpose buckets should block public write access2no data
πŸ’Ό AWS Well-Architected β†’ πŸ’Ό SEC08-BP04 Enforce access control8no data
πŸ’Ό Cloudaware Framework β†’ πŸ’Ό Public Data Access13no data
πŸ’Ό FedRAMP High Security Controls β†’ πŸ’Ό AC-3 Access Enforcement (L)(M)(H)49103no data
πŸ’Ό FedRAMP High Security Controls β†’ πŸ’Ό AC-4 Information Flow Enforcement (M)(H)248188no data
πŸ’Ό FedRAMP High Security Controls β†’ πŸ’Ό AC-4(21) Physical or Logical Separation of Information Flows (M)(H)18141no data
πŸ’Ό FedRAMP High Security Controls β†’ πŸ’Ό AC-6 Least Privilege (M)(H)81287no data
πŸ’Ό FedRAMP High Security Controls β†’ πŸ’Ό AC-21 Information Sharing (M)(H)19no data
πŸ’Ό FedRAMP High Security Controls β†’ πŸ’Ό SC-7 Boundary Protection (L)(M)(H)10999no data
πŸ’Ό FedRAMP High Security Controls β†’ πŸ’Ό SC-7(3) Access Points (M)(H)19no data
πŸ’Ό FedRAMP High Security Controls β†’ πŸ’Ό SC-7(4) External Telecommunications Services (M)(H)49no data
πŸ’Ό FedRAMP High Security Controls β†’ πŸ’Ό SC-7(20) Dynamic Isolation and Segregation (H)20no data
πŸ’Ό FedRAMP High Security Controls β†’ πŸ’Ό SC-7(21) Isolation of System Components (H)37no data
πŸ’Ό FedRAMP Low Security Controls β†’ πŸ’Ό AC-3 Access Enforcement (L)(M)(H)103no data
πŸ’Ό FedRAMP Low Security Controls β†’ πŸ’Ό SC-7 Boundary Protection (L)(M)(H)50no data
πŸ’Ό FedRAMP Moderate Security Controls β†’ πŸ’Ό AC-3 Access Enforcement (L)(M)(H)103no data
πŸ’Ό FedRAMP Moderate Security Controls β†’ πŸ’Ό AC-4 Information Flow Enforcement (M)(H)1169no data
πŸ’Ό FedRAMP Moderate Security Controls β†’ πŸ’Ό AC-4(21) Physical or Logical Separation of Information Flows (M)(H)141no data
πŸ’Ό FedRAMP Moderate Security Controls β†’ πŸ’Ό AC-6 Least Privilege (M)(H)687no data
πŸ’Ό FedRAMP Moderate Security Controls β†’ πŸ’Ό AC-21 Information Sharing (M)(H)19no data
πŸ’Ό FedRAMP Moderate Security Controls β†’ πŸ’Ό SC-7 Boundary Protection (L)(M)(H)783no data
πŸ’Ό FedRAMP Moderate Security Controls β†’ πŸ’Ό SC-7(3) Access Points (M)(H)19no data
πŸ’Ό FedRAMP Moderate Security Controls β†’ πŸ’Ό SC-7(4) External Telecommunications Services (M)(H)49no data
πŸ’Ό NIST CSF v2.0 β†’ πŸ’Ό DE.CM-01: Networks and network services are monitored to find potentially adverse events187no data
πŸ’Ό NIST CSF v2.0 β†’ πŸ’Ό DE.CM-09: Computing hardware and software, runtime environments, and their data are monitored to find potentially adverse events185no data
πŸ’Ό NIST CSF v2.0 β†’ πŸ’Ό ID.AM-03: Representations of the organization's authorized network communication and internal and external network data flows are maintained128no data
πŸ’Ό NIST CSF v2.0 β†’ πŸ’Ό 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 duties199no data
πŸ’Ό NIST CSF v2.0 β†’ πŸ’Ό PR.DS-01: The confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data-at-rest are protected248no data
πŸ’Ό NIST CSF v2.0 β†’ πŸ’Ό PR.DS-02: The confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data-in-transit are protected219no data
πŸ’Ό NIST CSF v2.0 β†’ πŸ’Ό PR.DS-10: The confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data-in-use are protected249no data
πŸ’Ό NIST CSF v2.0 β†’ πŸ’Ό PR.IR-01: Networks and environments are protected from unauthorized logical access and usage165no data
πŸ’Ό NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 β†’ πŸ’Ό AC-3 Access Enforcement15866no data
πŸ’Ό NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 β†’ πŸ’Ό AC-3(7) Access Enforcement _ Role-based Access Control36no data
πŸ’Ό NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 β†’ πŸ’Ό AC-4 Information Flow Enforcement32120207no data
πŸ’Ό NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 β†’ πŸ’Ό AC-4(21) Information Flow Enforcement _ Physical or Logical Separation of Information Flows83141no data
πŸ’Ό NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 β†’ πŸ’Ό AC-6 Least Privilege102580no data
πŸ’Ό NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 β†’ πŸ’Ό AC-21 Information Sharing219no data
πŸ’Ό NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 β†’ πŸ’Ό SC-7 Boundary Protection2911108no data
πŸ’Ό NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 β†’ πŸ’Ό SC-7(3) Boundary Protection _ Access Points19no data
πŸ’Ό NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 β†’ πŸ’Ό SC-7(4) Boundary Protection _ External Telecommunications Services49no data
πŸ’Ό NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 β†’ πŸ’Ό SC-7(9) Boundary Protection _ Restrict Threatening Outgoing Communications Traffic35no data
πŸ’Ό NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 β†’ πŸ’Ό SC-7(11) Boundary Protection _ Restrict Incoming Communications Traffic37no data
πŸ’Ό NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 β†’ πŸ’Ό SC-7(16) Boundary Protection _ Prevent Discovery of System Components37no data
πŸ’Ό NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 β†’ πŸ’Ό SC-7(20) Boundary Protection _ Dynamic Isolation and Segregation20no data
πŸ’Ό NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5 β†’ πŸ’Ό SC-7(21) Boundary Protection _ Isolation of System Components37no data
πŸ’Ό PCI DSS v3.2.1 β†’ πŸ’Ό 1.2.1 Restrict inbound and outbound traffic to that which is necessary for the cardholder data environment, and specifically deny all other traffic.16111no data
πŸ’Ό PCI DSS v3.2.1 β†’ πŸ’Ό 1.3.1 Implement a DMZ to limit inbound traffic to only system components that provide authorized publicly accessible services, protocols, and ports.10100no data
πŸ’Ό PCI DSS v3.2.1 β†’ πŸ’Ό 1.3.2 Limit inbound Internet traffic to IP addresses within the DMZ.100no data
πŸ’Ό PCI DSS v3.2.1 β†’ πŸ’Ό 1.3.4 Do not allow unauthorized outbound traffic from the cardholder data environment to the Internet.15no data
πŸ’Ό PCI DSS v3.2.1 β†’ πŸ’Ό 1.3.5 Permit only β€œestablished” connections into the network.100no data
πŸ’Ό PCI DSS v3.2.1 β†’ πŸ’Ό 1.3.6 Place system components that store cardholder data in an internal network zone, segregated from the DMZ and other untrusted networks.15no data
πŸ’Ό PCI DSS v3.2.1 β†’ πŸ’Ό 7.2.1 Coverage of all system components.11no data
πŸ’Ό PCI DSS v4.0.1 β†’ πŸ’Ό 1.3.1 Inbound traffic to the CDE is restricted.111no data
πŸ’Ό PCI DSS v4.0.1 β†’ πŸ’Ό 1.3.2 Outbound traffic from the CDE is restricted.111no data
πŸ’Ό PCI DSS v4.0.1 β†’ πŸ’Ό 1.4.2 Inbound traffic from untrusted networks to trusted networks is restricted.100no data
πŸ’Ό PCI DSS v4.0.1 β†’ πŸ’Ό 1.4.4 System components that store cardholder data are not directly accessible from untrusted networks.15no data
πŸ’Ό PCI DSS v4.0.1 β†’ πŸ’Ό 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.11no data
πŸ’Ό PCI DSS v4.0 β†’ πŸ’Ό 1.3.1 Inbound traffic to the CDE is restricted.31111no data
πŸ’Ό PCI DSS v4.0 β†’ πŸ’Ό 1.3.2 Outbound traffic from the CDE is restricted.111no data
πŸ’Ό PCI DSS v4.0 β†’ πŸ’Ό 1.4.2 Inbound traffic from untrusted networks to trusted networks is restricted.31100no data
πŸ’Ό PCI DSS v4.0 β†’ πŸ’Ό 1.4.4 System components that store cardholder data are not directly accessible from untrusted networks.15no data
πŸ’Ό PCI DSS v4.0 β†’ πŸ’Ό 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.11no data