AWS KMS Key Policy Updated via PutKeyPolicy
Identifies successful PutKeyPolicy calls on AWS KMS keys. The key policy is a resource-based policy that controls which principals can use the key for cryptographic operations and administration. Adversaries with…
Description
Identifies successful PutKeyPolicy calls on AWS KMS keys. The key policy is a resource-based policy that controls which principals can use the key for cryptographic operations and administration. Adversaries with "kms:PutKeyPolicy" may add or broaden principals (including external accounts) to decrypt or exfiltrate data protected by the key, or to preserve access after other credentials are rotated. This is distinct from disabling or scheduling deletion of the key.
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 SuiteWindows
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
- Security, platform, and encryption teams legitimately update KMS key policies during onboarding, key rotation, or cross-account access design. Review the policy document diff, ticketing, and whether new principals are in-org.
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/kms/latest/APIReference/API_PutKeyPolicy.html | Only this detection cites it |
| docs.aws.amazon.com/kms/latest/developerguide/key-policies.html | Only this detection cites it |
From the source
- At source
- Open at source
- Upstream identifier
- f6a0b2c3-4d5e-4f7a-8b9c-0d1e2f3a4b5c
- Tagged by the source as
- Data Source: Amazon Web ServicesData Source: AWSData Source: AWS CloudTrailDomain: CloudNoise: LowPerformance: FastPlatform: AWSResources: Investigation GuideRule Type: Custom Query (KQL)Service: AWS KMSTactic: Defense EvasionTactic: Privilege Escalation
Licence
- Published under
- Elastic License 2.0Read the licence
- Attribution
- Required
Authorship
- Written by
- Published
- Sep 20, 2026
- Version
- 3