Cis AWS Compute 3.7

Ensure logging is configured for Amazon ECS task definitions

Description

Configure logging for Amazon ECS task definitions to capture detailed application and container activity.

Note: This recommendation assumes that only the latest active revision of a task definition is in use. If older revisions are in use, apply the audit and remediation procedures to those revisions as needed.

Rationale

Logging facilitates effective monitoring, troubleshooting, and incident response, improving security and enabling rapid threat detection.

Impact

Logging can incur costs for storage and processing, along with initial configuration and ongoing management.

Audit Procedure

Using AWS Console

1. Login to the ECS console using https://console.aws.amazon.com/ecs/.
2. In the left panel, click Task definitions.
3. Click the name of a task definition.
4. Click on the latest active revision of the task definition.
5. Click JSON.
6. Ensure that at least one element under containerDefinitions has a logConfiguration property defined, and that the value for logDriver is not null.
7. Repeat steps 1-6 for each task definition.

Using AWS CLI

Run the following command to list task definitions:

aws ecs list-task-definitions

For the latest revision of a task definition, run the following command:

aws ecs describe-task-definition --task-definition <task-definition-arn> --query 'taskDefinition.containerDefinitions[*].logConfiguration'

Ensure that the command returns at least one logConfiguration object, and that the value for logDriver is not null. Repeat for each task definition.

Expected Result

At least one container in each task definition should have a logConfiguration with a valid logDriver configured.

Remediation

Using AWS Console

1. Login to the ECS console using https://console.aws.amazon.com/ecs/.
2. In the left panel, click Task definitions.
3. Click the name of a task definition.
4. Click on the latest active revision of the task definition.
5. Click Create new revision.
6. Click Create new revision again.
7. For at least one container, under Logging > Log collection, check the box next to Use log collection and further configure the log collection options as needed.
8. Click Create.
9. Repeat steps 1-8 for each task definition requiring remediation.

Note: When a task definition is updated, running tasks launched from the previous task definition remain unchanged. Updating a running task requires redeploying it with the new task definition.

Using AWS CLI

No specific CLI remediation provided. Register a new task definition revision with logConfiguration configured using aws ecs register-task-definition.

Default Value

Logging is enabled by default when a task definition is created via the console.

References

1. https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECS/latest/developerguide/task_definition_parameters.htm
2. https://awscli.amazonaws.com/v2/documentation/api/latest/reference/ecs/list-task-definitions.html
3. https://awscli.amazonaws.com/v2/documentation/api/latest/reference/ecs/describe-task-definition.html

CIS Controls

Profile

Level 1 | Automated