Basics of Pentest on AWS Environment

Basics of Pentest on an AWS Environment

1. Preparation and Authorization
   a. Obtain Permission: Secure written authorization from the AWS account owner and follow AWS’s penetration testing policies. AWS allows testing of certain services but requires approval for others.
   b. Understand the Shared Responsibility Model: AWS secures the infrastructure, while you are responsible for securing configurations, applications, and data.

2. Define Scope and Goals
   a. Identify which AWS services (e.g., EC2, S3, IAM) will be tested.
   b. Determine testing objectives, such as identifying misconfigurations or vulnerabilities in access controls or data storage

3. Map the Attack Surface
   a. Tools: Use tools like Nmap or AWS CLI to identify resources such as EC2 instances, S3 buckets, IAM roles, Lambda functions, and VPC configurations.
   b. Objective: Understand how these components interact and identify potential entry points for attackers

4. Vulnerability Assessment
   a. Automated Scanning: Use tools like ScoutSuite or Prowler to detect misconfigurations in IAM policies, security groups, and network setups.
   Example: Check if S3 buckets are publicly accessible or if security groups allow unrestricted inbound traffic
   b. Manual Testing: Review configurations to identify issues automated tools might miss (e.g., overly permissive IAM roles)

5. Exploit Vulnerabilities
   Test identified vulnerabilities to assess their impact:
   a. IAM Misconfigurations: Exploit overly permissive roles or missing multi-factor authentication (MFA).
   b. S3 Buckets: Attempt unauthorized access to sensitive data by exploiting weak permissions.
   c. EC2 Instances: Test for open ports or outdated software that could be exploited. Use tools like Metasploit for controlled exploitation.

6. Security Architecture Review
   a. Analyze the overall security posture of the AWS environment:
   o Check if encryption is enabled for data at rest and in transit.
   o Ensure backups are properly configured and recoverable.
   o Verify compliance with best practices for high availability and fault tolerance.

7. Reporting
   a. Create a detailed report summarizing:
   i. Vulnerabilities found (e.g., misconfigured S3 buckets, weak IAM policies).
   ii. Exploitation techniques used.
   iii. Recommendations for remediation (e.g., enabling MFA, restricting access).

8. Remediation and Retesting
   a. Work with the development and operations teams to fix identified vulnerabilities.
   b. Retest the environment to ensure all issues have been resolved effectively6.

Key Tools for AWS Penetration Testing

1. ScoutSuite: Cloud configuration review.
2. Prowler: Compliance checks against AWS best practices.
3. AWS CLI: For manual enumeration of resources.
4. Metasploit: Exploitation of vulnerabilities. This process ensures a thorough evaluation of your AWS environment while adhering to ethical guidelines and minimizing disruption to production systems.

Coming Up:

The details on the above steps - stay tuned. I have my environment spun up for the next stage.