PutRolePolicy
AWS
PutRolePolicy
Event
Creates or updates an inline policy embedded directly in an IAM role.
Security Context
- Adversaries attach overly permissive policies to maintain persistent, elevated access even after initial credentials are rotated.
Log Source
CloudTrail
Sample Event
Adversarial. Draco — using a session credential issued via a chained STS call from his earlier privesc — backdoors OccamyPipelineRole by attaching an inline policy draco-backdoor-policy granting Action: "*" on Resource: "*". This survives even if his own user draco is later disabled, because the policy lives on a service role that data pipelines need to keep running. Classic T1098 IAM persistence.
{ "eventVersion": "1.09", "userIdentity": { "type": "IAMUser", "principalId": "AIDADRAC0MALF0YBADGY", "arn": "arn:aws:iam::555123456789:user/draco", "accountId": "555123456789", "accessKeyId": "AKIADRAC0MALF0YEXAMP5", "userName": "draco", "sessionContext": { "attributes": { "creationDate": "2026-04-15T18:51:02Z", "mfaAuthenticated": "false" } } }, "eventTime": "2026-04-15T19:21:33Z", "eventSource": "iam.amazonaws.com", "eventName": "PutRolePolicy", "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": { "roleName": "OccamyPipelineRole", "policyName": "draco-backdoor-policy", "policyDocument": "%7B%22Version%22%3A%222012-10-17%22%2C%22Statement%22%3A%5B%7B%22Effect%22%3A%22Allow%22%2C%22Action%22%3A%22%2A%22%2C%22Resource%22%3A%22%2A%22%7D%5D%7D" }, "responseElements": null, "requestID": "90000000-0000-4000-8000-000110010010", "eventID": "90000000-0000-4000-8000-000110010011", "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...