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العربيةRead DynamoDB table
Can read items from a DynamoDB table.
Grants escalation on its own.
dynamodb:GetItemOn its own, dynamodb:GetItem can read items from a DynamoDB table. On a wide resource scope that alone reaches the data itself.
Why it is dangerous
A principal can call dynamodb:GetItem to read items from the table, direct exfiltration of whatever the table holds. DynamoDB is a public-endpoint, IAM-gated API, so this is a control-plane read with no network precondition. The objective, not a stepping-stone; severity tracks the table's sensitivity.
In MITRE ATT&CK terms this maps to T1530, Data from Cloud Storage, under the collection tactic. AWS records it in CloudTrail as GetItem, Query, Scan. The call is quiet against normal activity, so it is easy to miss without a rule for it.
Detection
GetItemQueryScanPrerequisites
dynamodb:GetItem (or Query/Scan) on the table.
MITRE ATT&CK
T1530 · Data from Cloud StorageTactic
Collection
A control that would remove it: Restrict dynamodb:GetItem/Query/Scan to the principals that need it.
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 dynamodb:GetItem allow?
Can read items from a DynamoDB table.
Can dynamodb:GetItem escalate privileges on its own?
Yes. Held on a broad enough resource it reaches the data itself with no other permission.
How is read DynamoDB table detected?
Watch for GetItem, Query, Scan in CloudTrail. The call is quiet against normal activity, so it is easy to miss without a rule for it.
How do you break this path?
A control that would remove it is: Restrict dynamodb:GetItem/Query/Scan to the principals that need it. 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?
T1530, Data from Cloud Storage, under the collection 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.