More Info:

The certificates should be rotated periodically.

Risk Level

High

Address

Security

Compliance Standards

NIST

Triage and Remediation

How to Prevent

To prevent the misconfiguration of user account certificates not being rotated in AWS IAM using the AWS Management Console, follow these steps:

  1. Enable IAM Access Analyzer:

    • Navigate to the IAM dashboard in the AWS Management Console.
    • In the left-hand navigation pane, select “Access Analyzer.”
    • Click on “Create analyzer” and follow the prompts to enable IAM Access Analyzer. This tool helps you identify and mitigate security risks, including certificate rotation.
  2. Set Up Certificate Expiration Alerts:

    • Go to the AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) in the AWS Management Console.
    • Select the certificate you want to monitor.
    • Configure CloudWatch Alarms to notify you before the certificate expires. This can be done by setting up a CloudWatch Event Rule that triggers an SNS notification.
  3. Implement IAM Policies for Certificate Rotation:

    • Navigate to the IAM dashboard.
    • In the left-hand navigation pane, select “Policies.”
    • Create a new policy that enforces certificate rotation by specifying conditions related to certificate age.
    • Attach this policy to the relevant IAM users or roles.
  4. Regularly Review and Rotate Certificates:

    • Periodically review the list of active certificates in the AWS Certificate Manager (ACM).
    • Manually rotate certificates that are nearing expiration or have been in use for an extended period.
    • Document and follow a regular schedule for certificate rotation to ensure compliance.

By following these steps, you can proactively manage and rotate user account certificates, thereby preventing potential security risks associated with expired or outdated certificates.

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