---
title: Redshift cluster without a KMS CMK
description: Datadog, the leading service for cloud-scale monitoring.
breadcrumbs: >-
  Docs > Datadog Security > Code Security > Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
  Security > IaC Security Rules > Redshift cluster without a KMS CMK
---

# Redshift cluster without a KMS CMK

{% callout %}
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{% alert level="danger" %}
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## Metadata{% #metadata %}

**Id:** `cloudformation-aws-redshift-cluster-without-kms-cmk` 

**Provider:** AWS

**Platform:** CloudFormation

**Severity:** Medium

**Category:** Encryption

#### Learn More{% #learn-more %}

- [Provider Reference](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-resource-redshift-cluster.html)

### Description{% #description %}

Redshift clusters should specify a customer-managed AWS KMS key (`KmsKeyId`) to maintain control over encryption of data at rest and snapshots. Without a customer-managed CMK, you lose control over key rotation, access policies, and the ability to revoke or share keys. In AWS CloudFormation, the `KmsKeyId` property must be defined on `AWS::Redshift::Cluster` resources and set to the ARN or key ID of a customer-managed KMS key. Resources missing this property will be flagged because they may rely on AWS-managed keys or lack explicit encryption controls. Secure configuration example (CloudFormation YAML):

```yaml
MyRedshiftCluster:
  Type: AWS::Redshift::Cluster
  Properties:
    ClusterType: single-node
    NodeType: dc2.large
    DBName: dev
    MasterUsername: masteruser
    MasterUserPassword: ReplaceWithSecurePassword
    KmsKeyId: arn:aws:kms:us-east-1:123456789012:key/abcd1234-ef56-7890-abcd-ef1234567890
```

## Compliant Code Examples{% #compliant-code-examples %}

```yaml
AWSTemplateFormatVersion: 2010-09-09
Description: Redshift Stack
Resources:
  RedshiftCluster:
    Type: AWS::Redshift::Cluster
    Properties:
      ClusterSubnetGroupName: !Ref RedshiftClusterSubnetGroup
      ClusterType: !If [ SingleNode, single-node, multi-node ]
      NumberOfNodes: !If [ SingleNode, !Ref 'AWS::NoValue', !Ref RedshiftNodeCount ] #'
      DBName: !Sub ${DatabaseName}
      IamRoles:
        - !GetAtt RawDataBucketAccessRole.Arn
      MasterUserPassword: !Ref MasterUserPassword
      MasterUsername: !Ref MasterUsername
      PubliclyAccessible: true
      NodeType: dc1.large
      Port: 5439
      VpcSecurityGroupIds:
        - !Sub ${RedshiftSecurityGroup}
      PreferredMaintenanceWindow: Sun:09:15-Sun:09:45
      KmsKeyId: wewewewewefsa
  DataBucket:
    Type: AWS::S3::Bucket
    Properties:
      BucketName: !Sub ${DataBucketName}
```

## Non-Compliant Code Examples{% #non-compliant-code-examples %}

```yaml
AWSTemplateFormatVersion: 2010-09-09
Description: Redshift Stack
Resources:
  RedshiftCluster:
    Type: AWS::Redshift::Cluster
    Properties:
      ClusterSubnetGroupName: !Ref RedshiftClusterSubnetGroup
      ClusterType: !If [ SingleNode, single-node, multi-node ]
      NumberOfNodes: !If [ SingleNode, !Ref 'AWS::NoValue', !Ref RedshiftNodeCount ] #'
      DBName: !Sub ${DatabaseName}
      IamRoles:
        - !GetAtt RawDataBucketAccessRole.Arn
      MasterUserPassword: !Ref MasterUserPassword
      MasterUsername: !Ref MasterUsername
      PubliclyAccessible: true
      NodeType: dc1.large
      Port: 5439
      VpcSecurityGroupIds:
        - !Sub ${RedshiftSecurityGroup}
      PreferredMaintenanceWindow: Sun:09:15-Sun:09:45
  DataBucket:
    Type: AWS::S3::Bucket
    Properties:
      BucketName: !Sub ${DataBucketName}
```