IAM Groups, Users, and Roles Should Not Have Any Inline Policies Rule
This rule states that IAM groups, users, and roles should not have any inline policies attached to ensure security.
| Rule | IAM groups, users, and roles should not have any inline policies |
| Framework | NIST 800-53 Revision 5 |
| Severity | ✔ Low |
Rule Description
According to the NIST 800-53 Revision 5 security standard, inline policies should not be used for IAM groups, users, and roles.
Inline policies are policies that are directly attached to individual IAM entities, such as groups, users, or roles. These policies define the permissions and access levels for specific entities. However, relying on inline policies can introduce inconsistency, management challenges, and potential security risks in an AWS environment.
To ensure compliance with NIST 800-53 Revision 5 guidelines, it is recommended to use managed policies instead. Managed policies are standalone policies that can be attached and shared across multiple IAM entities, providing a more centralized and controlled approach to access management.
Rule Remediation
To remediate the inline policy issue, the following steps should be followed:
Step 1: Review existing IAM groups, users, and roles to identify entities with inline policies.
Step 2: Create a managed policy to replace the inline policy for each identified IAM entity.
Step 3: Attach the newly created managed policy to the respective IAM group, user, or role.
Note: Before implementing the changes, ensure that you have appropriate permissions and administrative access in the AWS environment.
Troubleshooting Steps (if required)
In case any issues arise during the remediation process, follow the troubleshooting steps below:
- 1.
Issue: Incorrect permissions or access denied error while creating the managed policy. Troubleshooting: Make sure you have the necessary IAM permissions to create and attach policies. Check IAM user or role permissions and ensure they have the required AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) policies attached.
- 2.
Issue: Existing resources or services no longer accessible after attaching the managed policy. Troubleshooting: Double-check the permissions and allow-list necessary resources and services in the managed policy. Ensure the managed policy includes all the required permissions for the specific IAM entity.
- 3.
Issue: Managed policy is not visible or not listed while attaching to the IAM entity. Troubleshooting: Verify that the managed policy is created in the same AWS region and account as the IAM entity you are trying to attach it to. Check if the managed policy has the correct permissions and is associated with the correct entities.
CLI Command Examples
To assist with the remediation process, the following CLI commands can be used:
- 1.Create a managed policy:
aws iam create-policy --policy-name PolicyName --policy-document file://policy.json
Replace
PolicyNamepolicy.json- 1.Attach a managed policy to an IAM group:
aws iam attach-group-policy --group-name GroupName --policy-arn arn:aws:iam::account-id:policy/PolicyName
Replace
GroupNamePolicyName- 1.Attach a managed policy to an IAM user:
aws iam attach-user-policy --user-name UserName --policy-arn arn:aws:iam::account-id:policy/PolicyName
Replace
UserNamePolicyName- 1.Attach a managed policy to an IAM role:
aws iam attach-role-policy --role-name RoleName --policy-arn arn:aws:iam::account-id:policy/PolicyName
Replace
RoleNamePolicyNameNote: Ensure you have the necessary AWS CLI access and permissions to execute the above commands.
By following the provided steps and using the given CLI commands, the inline policies for IAM groups, users, and roles can be replaced with managed policies to comply with the NIST 800-53 Revision 5 guidelines.