PutGroupPolicy
AWS
PutGroupPolicy
Event
Creates or updates an inline policy embedded directly in an IAM group.
Security Context
- Adversaries attach overly permissive policies to maintain persistent, elevated access even after initial credentials are rotated.
Log Source
CloudTrail
Sample Event
Adversarial — persistence / privilege escalation. Draco — having gained iam:PutGroupPolicy — embeds an inline *:* policy directly into the Developers IAM group, of which his own user draco is a member. Inline policies are easier to overlook in IAM cleanup operations than attached managed policies (no separate ARN to chase down), making this a stealthier persistence move than AttachUserPolicy. T1098.
{ "eventVersion": "1.09", "userIdentity": { "type": "IAMUser", "principalId": "AIDADRAC0MALF0YBADGY", "arn": "arn:aws:iam::555123456789:user/draco", "accountId": "555123456789", "accessKeyId": "AKIADRAC0MALF0YEXAMP5", "userName": "draco", "sessionContext": { "attributes": { "creationDate": "2026-04-15T21:42:08Z", "mfaAuthenticated": "false" } } }, "eventTime": "2026-04-15T23:55:34Z", "eventSource": "iam.amazonaws.com", "eventName": "PutGroupPolicy", "awsRegion": "us-east-1", "sourceIPAddress": "203.0.113.66", "userAgent": "aws-cli/1.18.147 Python/3.7.10 Linux/5.4.0-1045-aws botocore/1.18.6", "requestParameters": { "groupName": "Developers", "policyName": "developer-helper-policy", "policyDocument": "{\"Version\":\"2012-10-17\",\"Statement\":[{\"Effect\":\"Allow\",\"Action\":\"*\",\"Resource\":\"*\"}]}" }, "responseElements": null, "requestID": "90000000-0000-4000-8000-000101101100", "eventID": "90000000-0000-4000-8000-000101101101", "readOnly": false, "eventType": "AwsApiCall", "managementEvent": true, "recipientAccountId": "555123456789", "eventCategory": "Management", "tlsDetails": { "tlsVersion": "TLSv1.3", "cipherSuite": "TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256", "clientProvidedHostHeader": "iam.amazonaws.com" }}MITRE ATT&CK Mapping
Tactics: Persistence Privilege Escalation
Techniques:
- T1098 — Account Manipulation — Adversaries may manipulate accounts to maintain and/or elevate access to victim systems. Account manipulation may consist of any action that preserves or modifies adversary access to a compromised account, such as modifying credentials or permission groups. These actions could also include accoun...