AWS IAM User Addition to Group
Identifies the addition of a user to a specified group in AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM). Any user added to a group automatically gains the permissions that are assigned to the group. If the target group…
Description
Identifies the addition of a user to a specified group in AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM). Any user added to a group automatically gains the permissions that are assigned to the group. If the target group carries elevated or admin privileges, this action can instantly grant high-risk permissions useful for credential misuse, lateral movement, or privilege escalation.
Detection logic
Its licence does not clear it for publishing here
Sunturai publishes a detection's own text where the licence it arrived under has been reviewed and permits it, and Elastic License 2.0 has not. The query as its source wrote it, its canonical form and the hash that pins this revision are in the workspace record.
Detection requirements
- Platform
- ContainersESXiIaaSIdentity ProviderLinuxmacOSNetwork DevicesOffice SuiteSaaSWindows
The rule states no platform. This is derived from the ATT&CK technique it maps to.
- Log source category
- event_index
Known benign triggers
- Legitimate operations such as new user onboarding, role changes, or service account updates may trigger this event. Verify whether the user identity, user agent, and/or hostname should be making changes in your environment. User additions from unfamiliar users or hosts should be investigated. If known behavior is causing false positives, it can be exempted from the rule.
MITRE ATT&CK mappings
0 exclusive techniques.This is coverage no other published rule has; it is not this rule's total technique count.
References
| Reference | Cited by |
|---|---|
| docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/APIReference/API_AddUserToGroup.html | Only this detection cites it |
From the source
- At source
- Open at source
- Upstream identifier
- 333de828-8190-4cf5-8d7c-7575846f6fe0
- Tagged by the source as
- Data Source: Amazon Web ServicesData Source: AWSData Source: AWS CloudTrailDomain: CloudNoise: MediumPerformance: NormalPlatform: AWSResources: Investigation GuideRule Type: Custom Query (KQL)Service: AWS IAMTactic: Credential AccessTactic: PersistenceUse Case: Identity and Access Audit
Licence
- Published under
- Elastic License 2.0Read the licence
- Attribution
- Required
Authorship
- Written by
- Published
- Sep 20, 2026
- Version
- 3