AWS S3 Bucket Expiration Lifecycle Configuration Added
Identifies the addition of an expiration lifecycle configuration to an Amazon S3 bucket. S3 lifecycle rules can automatically delete or transition objects after a defined period. Adversaries can abuse them by…
Description
Identifies the addition of an expiration lifecycle configuration to an Amazon S3 bucket. S3 lifecycle rules can automatically delete or transition objects after a defined period. Adversaries can abuse them by configuring auto-deletion of logs, forensic evidence, or sensitive objects to cover their tracks. This rule detects the use of the PutBucketLifecycle or PutBucketLifecycleConfiguration APIs with Expiration parameters, which may indicate an attempt to automate the removal of data to hinder investigation or maintain operational secrecy after malicious activity.
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 3 ATT&CK techniques it maps to.
- Log source category
- event_index
Known benign triggers
- Legitimate administrators may add lifecycle expiration configurations to reduce storage costs or enforce retention policies. Confirm whether this change aligns with an approved data management policy or infrastructure-as-code workflow. Known lifecycle automation processes (e.g., cost-management tools, data-lifecycle governance jobs) can be safely excluded from alerting once verified.
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/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/lifecycle-expire-general-considerations.html | Only this detection cites it |
From the source
- At source
- Open at source
- Upstream identifier
- ff320c56-f8fa-11ee-8c44-f661ea17fbce
- Tagged by the source as
- Data Source: Amazon Web ServicesData Source: AWSData Source: AWS CloudTrailDomain: CloudNoise: HighPerformance: NormalPlatform: AWSProfile: AggressiveResources: Investigation GuideRule Type: Event Correlation (EQL)Service: AWS S3Tactic: Defense Evasion
Licence
- Published under
- Elastic License 2.0Read the licence
- Attribution
- Required
Authorship
- Written by
- Published
- Sep 20, 2026
- Version
- 3