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العربيةShare AMI out
Can share an AMI out to an attacker account.
Grants escalation on its own.
ec2:ModifyImageAttributeOn its own, ec2:ModifyImageAttribute can share an AMI out to an attacker account. On a wide resource scope that alone reaches access for an outside or public principal.
Why it is dangerous
A principal can call ec2:ModifyImageAttribute on the AMI to share the AMI with an attacker-controlled account. Images routinely bake in data, source and credentials, so sharing one exfiltrates whatever it holds, and lets the attacker launch instances from it in their own account.
In MITRE ATT&CK terms this maps to T1537, Transfer Data to Cloud Account, under the exfiltration tactic. AWS records it in CloudTrail as ModifyImageAttribute. The call shows up in CloudTrail but blends into normal administration, so it needs a rule to stand out.
Detection
ModifyImageAttributePrerequisites
ec2:ModifyImageAttribute on the image.
MITRE ATT&CK
T1537 · Transfer Data to Cloud AccountTactic
Exfiltration
A control that would remove it: Restrict ec2:ModifyImageAttribute; review AMI launchPermission sharing.
Whether to apply it depends on how the permission is used in your environment, so it is a business decision rather than an automatic fix. The same permission can be load-bearing in one account and pure risk in another.
Pathbreak confirms whether this path resolves in your account, ranks it against the others by how much it opens up, and uses your threat model and business context to show which paths are worth cutting.
Questions
What does ec2:ModifyImageAttribute allow?
Can share an AMI out to an attacker account.
Can ec2:ModifyImageAttribute escalate privileges on its own?
Yes. Held on a broad enough resource it reaches access for an outside or public principal with no other permission.
How is share AMI out detected?
Watch for ModifyImageAttribute in CloudTrail. The call shows up in CloudTrail but blends into normal administration, so it needs a rule to stand out.
How do you break this path?
A control that would remove it is: Restrict ec2:ModifyImageAttribute; review AMI launchPermission sharing. Whether to apply it depends on how the permission is used in your account, so it is a business decision rather than an automatic fix.
Which MITRE ATT&CK technique is this?
T1537, Transfer Data to Cloud Account, under the exfiltration tactic.
Related paths
References
Find this in your own account
We run a read-only scan of one AWS account and show you which of these paths exist, ranked by blast radius, with the change that breaks each one. First validated paths within the hour.