name: AWS CreateAccessKey
id: 2a9b80d3-6340-4345-11ad-212bf3d0d111
version: 3
date: '2022-03-03'
author: Bhavin Patel, Splunk
status: production
type: Hunting
description: This detection rule monitors for the creation of AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) access keys. 
  An IAM access key consists of an access key ID and secret access key, which are used to sign programmatic requests to AWS services. 
  While IAM access keys can be legitimately used by developers and administrators for API access, their creation can also be indicative 
  of malicious activity. Attackers who have gained unauthorized access to an AWS environment might create access keys as a means to 
  establish persistence or to exfiltrate data through the APIs. Moreover, because access keys can be used to authenticate with AWS 
  services without the need for further interaction, they can be particularly appealing for bad actors looking to operate under the radar. 
  Consequently, it's important to vigilantly monitor and scrutinize access key creation events, especially if they are associated with 
  unusual activity or are created by users who don't typically perform these actions. This hunting query identifies when a potentially compromised user 
  creates a IAM access key for another user who may have higher privilleges, which can be a sign for privilege escalation. Hunting queries are designed to be executed 
  manual during threat hunting.
data_source: []
search: '`cloudtrail` eventName = CreateAccessKey userAgent !=console.amazonaws.com
  errorCode = success | eval match=if(match(userIdentity.userName,requestParameters.userName),1,0)
  | search match=0 | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime by
  requestParameters.userName src eventName eventSource aws_account_id errorCode userAgent
  eventID awsRegion userIdentity.principalId user_arn | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
  | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` |`aws_createaccesskey_filter`'
how_to_implement: You must install splunk AWS add on and Splunk App for AWS. This
  search works with AWS CloudTrail logs.
known_false_positives: While this search has no known false positives, it is possible
  that an AWS admin has legitimately created keys for another user.
references:
- https://bishopfox.com/blog/privilege-escalation-in-aws
- https://rhinosecuritylabs.com/aws/aws-privilege-escalation-methods-mitigation-part-2/
tags:
  analytic_story:
  - AWS IAM Privilege Escalation
  asset_type: AWS Account
  confidence: 90
  impact: 70
  message: User $user_arn$ is attempting to create access keys for $requestParameters.userName$
    from this IP $src$
  mitre_attack_id:
  - T1136.003
  - T1136
  observable:
  - name: src
    type: IP Address
    role:
    - Attacker
  - name: user_arn
    type: User
    role:
    - Attacker
  product:
  - Splunk Enterprise
  - Splunk Enterprise Security
  - Splunk Cloud
  required_fields:
  - _time
  - eventName
  - userAgent
  - errorCode
  - requestParameters.userName
  risk_score: 63
  security_domain: network
tests:
- name: True Positive Test
  attack_data:
  - data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/attack_techniques/T1078/aws_createaccesskey/aws_cloudtrail_events.json
    sourcetype: aws:cloudtrail
    source: aws_cloudtrail
    update_timestamp: true