AWS Lambda Function Deletion by Unusual User
Identifies when an unusual user deletes an AWS Lambda function. Deleting a function removes its code, configuration, versions, and aliases. Adversaries may delete functions to disrupt business operations and…
Description
Identifies when an unusual user deletes an AWS Lambda function. Deleting a function removes its code, configuration, versions, and aliases. Adversaries may delete functions to disrupt business operations and automated workflows, to destroy attacker-deployed backdoors and remove evidence after achieving their objective, or to inhibit incident response. Because function deletion is destructive and often irreversible without redeployment, deletions performed by unexpected principals or outside change windows should be reviewed. This is a New Terms rule that uses "cloud.account.id", "user.name", and "aws.cloudtrail.flattened.request_parameters.functionName" to alert on the first time a given identity in an account successfully deletes a specific Lambda function within the history window.
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
- ContainersESXiIaaSLinuxmacOSWindows
The rule states no platform. This is derived from the 2 ATT&CK techniques it maps to.
- Log source category
- event_index
Known benign triggers
- Lambda functions are routinely deleted during application decommissioning, environment teardown, and infrastructure-as-code apply/destroy cycles. Verify whether the principal in `aws.cloudtrail.user_identity.arn` and the deleted function are expected for the workload, and whether the change aligns with an approved maintenance or deployment window. Known deployment roles and automation can be excluded after validation.
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/lambda/latest/api/API_DeleteFunction.html | Only this detection cites it |
| docs.aws.amazon.com/lambda/latest/dg/logging-using-cloudtrail.html | 5 |
From the source
- At source
- Open at source
- Upstream identifier
- bb3ac0e3-2c9c-4069-a26d-75ca6a6e547b
- Tagged by the source as
- Data Source: Amazon Web ServicesData Source: AWSData Source: AWS CloudTrailDomain: CloudNoise: MediumPerformance: FastPlatform: AWSResources: Investigation GuideRule Type: New TermsService: AWS LambdaTactic: Impact
Licence
- Published under
- Elastic License 2.0Read the licence
- Attribution
- Required
Authorship
- Written by
- Published
- Sep 29, 2026
- Version
- 4