AWS First Occurrence of STS GetFederationToken Request by User
Identifies the first occurrence of an AWS Security Token Service (STS) GetFederationToken request made by a user. The GetFederationToken API call allows users to request temporary security credentials to access AWS…
Description
Identifies the first occurrence of an AWS Security Token Service (STS) GetFederationToken request made by a user. The GetFederationToken API call allows users to request temporary security credentials to access AWS resources. The maximum expiration period for these tokens is 36 hours and they can be used to create a console signin token even for identities that don't already have one. Adversaries may use this API to obtain temporary credentials for persistence and to bypass IAM API call limitations by gaining console access.
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 2 ATT&CK techniques it maps to.
- Log source category
- event_index
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 |
|---|---|
| hackingthe.cloud/aws/post_exploitation/survive_access_key_deletion_with_sts_getfederationtoken/ | Only this detection cites it |
| medium.com/@adan.alvarez/how-attackers-persist-in-aws-using-getfederationtoken-a-simple-and-effective-technique-used-in-the-987ec1f0bdfe/ | Only this detection cites it |
| www.crowdstrike.com/en-us/blog/how-adversaries-persist-with-aws-user-federation/ | Only this detection cites it |
From the source
- At source
- Open at source
- Upstream identifier
- 7a5cc9a8-5ea3-11ef-beec-f661ea17fbce
- Tagged by the source as
- Data Source: Amazon Web ServicesData Source: AWSData Source: AWS CloudTrailData Source: AWS STSDomain: CloudNoise: LowPerformance: NormalPlatform: AWSResources: Investigation GuideRule Type: New TermsService: AWS STSTactic: Defense EvasionTactic: PersistenceUse Case: Threat Detection
Licence
- Published under
- Elastic License 2.0Read the licence
- Attribution
- Required
Authorship
- Written by
- Published
- Sep 20, 2026
- Version
- 3