name: detecting-aws-iam-privilege-escalation description: Detect AWS IAM privilege escalation paths using boto3 and Cloudsplaining policy analysis to identify overly permissive policies, dangerous permission combinations, and least-privilege violations domain: cybersecurity subdomain: cloud-security tags:

• aws
• iam
• privilege-escalation
• cloudsplaining
• boto3
• policy-analysis
• least-privilege version: '1.0' author: mahipal license: Apache-2.0 nist_csf:
• PR.IR-01
• ID.AM-08
• GV.SC-06
• DE.CM-01

Detecting AWS IAM Privilege Escalation

Overview

This skill uses boto3 and Cloudsplaining-style analysis to identify IAM privilege escalation paths in AWS accounts. It downloads the account authorization details, analyzes each policy for dangerous permission combinations (iam:PassRole + lambda:CreateFunction, iam:CreatePolicyVersion, sts:AssumeRole), and flags policies that violate least-privilege principles.

When to Use

• When investigating security incidents that require detecting aws iam privilege escalation
• When building detection rules or threat hunting queries for this domain
• When SOC analysts need structured procedures for this analysis type
• When validating security monitoring coverage for related attack techniques

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+ with boto3 library
• AWS credentials with IAM read-only access (iam:GetAccountAuthorizationDetails)
• Optional: cloudsplaining Python package for HTML report generation

Steps

1. Download IAM Authorization Details — Call iam:GetAccountAuthorizationDetails to retrieve all users, groups, roles, and policies
2. Analyze Policies for Privilege Escalation — Check each policy for known escalation permission combinations
3. Identify Wildcard Resource Policies — Flag policies using Resource: "*" with dangerous actions
4. Map Principal-to-Policy Relationships — Build a graph of which principals can access which escalation paths
5. Score and Prioritize Findings — Rank findings by severity based on escalation vector type
6. Generate Report — Produce structured JSON report with remediation guidance

Expected Output

• JSON report of privilege escalation findings with severity scores
• List of dangerous permission combinations per principal
• Wildcard resource policy audit results
• Remediation recommendations for each finding