AWS Network Access Control List Created with All Open Ports

name: AWS Network Access Control List Created with All Open Ports
id: ada0f478-84a8-4641-a3f1-d82362d6bd75
version: 10
date: '2026-03-10'
author: Bhavin Patel, Patrick Bareiss, Splunk
status: production
type: TTP
description: The following analytic detects the creation of AWS Network Access Control Lists (ACLs) with all ports open to a specified CIDR. It leverages AWS CloudTrail events, specifically monitoring for `CreateNetworkAclEntry` or `ReplaceNetworkAclEntry` actions with rules allowing all traffic. This activity is significant because it can expose the network to unauthorized access, increasing the risk of data breaches and other malicious activities. If confirmed malicious, an attacker could exploit this misconfiguration to gain unrestricted access to the network, potentially leading to data exfiltration, service disruption, or further compromise of the AWS environment.
data_source:
    - AWS CloudTrail CreateNetworkAclEntry
    - AWS CloudTrail ReplaceNetworkAclEntry
search: |-
    `cloudtrail` eventName=CreateNetworkAclEntry OR eventName=ReplaceNetworkAclEntry requestParameters.ruleAction=allow requestParameters.egress=false requestParameters.aclProtocol=-1
      | append [search `cloudtrail` eventName=CreateNetworkAclEntry OR eventName=ReplaceNetworkAclEntry requestParameters.ruleAction=allow requestParameters.egress=false requestParameters.aclProtocol!=-1
      | eval port_range='requestParameters.portRange.to' - 'requestParameters.portRange.from'
      | where port_range>1024]
      | fillnull
      | rename user_name as user
      | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime
        BY signature dest user
           user_agent src vendor_account
           vendor_region vendor_product requestParameters.ruleAction
           requestParameters.egress requestParameters.aclProtocol requestParameters.portRange.to
           requestParameters.portRange.from requestParameters.cidrBlock
      | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
      | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
      | `aws_network_access_control_list_created_with_all_open_ports_filter`
how_to_implement: You must install the AWS App for Splunk (version 5.1.0 or later) and Splunk Add-on for AWS, version 4.4.0 or later, and configure your AWS CloudTrail inputs.
known_false_positives: It's possible that an admin has created this ACL with all ports open for some legitimate purpose however, this should be scoped and not allowed in production environment.
references: []
drilldown_searches:
    - name: View the detection results for - "$user$"
      search: '%original_detection_search% | search  user = "$user$"'
      earliest_offset: $info_min_time$
      latest_offset: $info_max_time$
    - name: View risk events for the last 7 days for - "$user$"
      search: '| from datamodel Risk.All_Risk | search normalized_risk_object IN ("$user$") starthoursago=168  | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(search_name) as "Search Name" values(risk_message) as "Risk Message" values(analyticstories) as "Analytic Stories" values(annotations._all) as "Annotations" values(annotations.mitre_attack.mitre_tactic) as "ATT&CK Tactics" by normalized_risk_object | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`'
      earliest_offset: $info_min_time$
      latest_offset: $info_max_time$
rba:
    message: User $user$ has created network ACLs with all the ports open to a specified CIDR $requestParameters.cidrBlock$
    risk_objects:
        - field: user
          type: user
          score: 50
    threat_objects:
        - field: src
          type: ip_address
tags:
    analytic_story:
        - AWS Network ACL Activity
    asset_type: AWS Instance
    mitre_attack_id:
        - T1562.007
    product:
        - Splunk Enterprise
        - Splunk Enterprise Security
        - Splunk Cloud
    security_domain: network
tests:
    - name: True Positive Test
      attack_data:
        - data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/attack_techniques/T1562.007/aws_create_acl/aws_cloudtrail_events.json
          sourcetype: aws:cloudtrail
          source: aws_cloudtrail