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العربيةSelf-grant SQS queue access
Can add an attacker account to an SQS queue's policy, then read or inject.
Grants escalation on its own.
sqs:AddPermissionOn its own, sqs:AddPermission can add an attacker account to an SQS queue's policy, then read or inject. On a wide resource scope that alone reaches access for an outside or public principal.
Why it is dangerous
A principal can call sqs:AddPermission to grant an attacker account ReceiveMessage/SendMessage on the queue, reading or injecting messages.
In MITRE ATT&CK terms this maps to T1098, Account Manipulation, under the privilege escalation tactic. AWS records it in CloudTrail as AddPermission, SetQueueAttributes. The call is quiet against normal activity, so it is easy to miss without a rule for it. It also gives an attacker a way to keep access after the first foothold is closed, so it is worth watching even when it looks like routine administration.
Detection
AddPermissionSetQueueAttributesPrerequisites
sqs:AddPermission (or SetQueueAttributes) on the queue; an attacker-controlled account to grant.
MITRE ATT&CK
T1098 · Account ManipulationTactic
Privilege Escalation
A control that would remove it: Restrict sqs:AddPermission and sqs:SetQueueAttributes on the queue.
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 sqs:AddPermission allow?
Can add an attacker account to an SQS queue's policy, then read or inject.
Can sqs:AddPermission 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 self-grant SQS queue access detected?
Watch for AddPermission, SetQueueAttributes 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 sqs:AddPermission and sqs:SetQueueAttributes on the queue. 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?
T1098, Account Manipulation, under the privilege escalation 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.