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# AWS ECS task definition elevated privileges enabled misconfiguration detected in code

## Rule Details

|                        |                                       |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------- |
| Cortex AppSec Rule ID  | APPSEC\_AWS\_334                      |
| Category - Subcategory | Compute - Default Credentials Or Auth |
| Provider               | AWS                                   |
| Severity               | MEDIUM                                |
| Framework              | Terraform, Terraform Plan             |
| Mapped CSPM/KSPM Rule  | 7fd4dcdb-4210-466c-8b75-f8f8f11da92d  |

## Impact

This rule looks for Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS) configurations where containers are set to run in privileged mode. Running containers in privileged mode is a security risk because it grants the container access to all the host system's devices. A compromised container could, therefore, inflict serious harm to the host system, including accessing sensitive data or disrupting system operations. For enhanced security, it's recommended that containers not be run as "privileged". This rule helps enforce this best practice, flagging any containers that are set to run with potentially excessive permissions.

## How to Fix

*Resource:* aws\_ecs\_task\_definition

* *Arguments:* container\_definitions.privilege

## To fix this issue, you'll need to specify the `privilege` flag in the AWS ECS task definition in the code to be `false`. The `privilege` flag controls whether all devices on the host can be accessed by the user inside the container which can be a severe security risk if exploited by a malicious actor. \[source,go]

resource "aws\_ecs\_task\_definition" "task" { family = "service" container\_definitions = <\<DEFINITION \[ { "name": "container", "image": "service:latest", "cpu": 10, "memory": 500, "essential": true,

* "privilege": false } ] DEFINITION }

***


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