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العربيةRead EBS snapshot blocks directly
Can read an EBS snapshot's raw blocks directly, no volume restore.
Grants escalation only in combination. All of these are needed together:
ebs:ListSnapshotBlocksebs:GetSnapshotBlockebs:GetSnapshotBlock can read an EBS snapshot's raw blocks directly, no volume restore, but only when it is held together with ebs:ListSnapshotBlocks. Held together they reach the data itself.
Why it is dangerous
A principal can call ebs:ListSnapshotBlocks then ebs:GetSnapshotBlock to read the raw blocks of the snapshot over the EBS direct APIs, reconstructing the full disk without ever creating a volume. An encrypted snapshot additionally requires kms:Decrypt on its key (a split-identity path).
In MITRE ATT&CK terms this maps to T1530, Data from Cloud Storage, under the collection tactic. AWS records it in CloudTrail as GetSnapshotBlock, ListSnapshotBlocks. The call is quiet against normal activity, so it is easy to miss without a rule for it.
Detection
GetSnapshotBlockListSnapshotBlocksPrerequisites
ebs:GetSnapshotBlock + ListSnapshotBlocks on the snapshot; kms:Decrypt if encrypted.
MITRE ATT&CK
T1530 · Data from Cloud StorageTactic
Collection
A control that would remove it: Deny ebs:GetSnapshotBlock / ListSnapshotBlocks on the snapshot; for encrypted snapshots, also restrict kms:Decrypt on the key.
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 ebs:GetSnapshotBlock allow?
Can read an EBS snapshot's raw blocks directly, no volume restore.
What else is needed for ebs:GetSnapshotBlock to be dangerous?
It becomes an escalation only when held together with ebs:ListSnapshotBlocks. On its own it is not enough, which is what makes the combination easy to miss.
How is read EBS snapshot blocks directly detected?
Watch for GetSnapshotBlock, ListSnapshotBlocks 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: Deny ebs:GetSnapshotBlock / ListSnapshotBlocks on the snapshot; for encrypted snapshots, also restrict kms:Decrypt on the key. 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
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