For AI agents: A markdown version of this page is available at https://docs.datadoghq.com/security/code_security/iac_security/iac_rules/cloudformation-aws-s3-bucket-allows-list-actions-from-all-principals.md. A documentation index is available at /llms.txt.

S3 bucket allows list action from all principals

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Metadata

Id: cloudformation-aws-s3-bucket-allows-list-actions-from-all-principals

Provider: AWS

Platform: CloudFormation

Severity: High

Category: Access Control

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Description

Bucket policies that grant list actions to all principals (*) allow anyone to enumerate a bucket’s contents and metadata. This can expose sensitive filenames and enable targeted data discovery or exfiltration. For CloudFormation, inspect AWS::S3::BucketPolicy resources’ Properties.PolicyDocument.Statement entries. Ensure no statement has Effect: "Allow" with Principal: "*" (or including *) while Action includes list operations such as s3:ListBucket. Resources missing the policy document, or containing statements that allow list actions to wildcard principals, will be flagged. Restrict listing permissions to specific AWS account IDs, IAM roles, or ARNs, or remove list permissions for public principals.

Secure example restricting list actions to a specific principal:

MyBucketPolicy:
  Type: AWS::S3::BucketPolicy
  Properties:
    Bucket: !Ref MyBucket
    PolicyDocument:
      Statement:
        - Effect: Allow
          Principal:
            AWS: arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/AllowedRole
          Action: s3:ListBucket
          Resource: !Sub arn:aws:s3:::${MyBucket}

Compliant Code Examples

#this code is a correct code for which the query should not find any result
Resources:
  SampleBucketPolicy1:
    Type: 'AWS::S3::BucketPolicy'
    Properties:
      Bucket: !Ref DOC-EXAMPLE-BUCKET
      PolicyDocument:
        Statement:
          - Action:
              - 's3:ListObject'
            Effect: Deny
            Resource: '*'
            Principal: '*'
            Condition:
              StringLike:
                'aws:Referer':
                  - 'http://www.example.com/*'
                  - 'http://example.net/*'

{
  "Resources": {
    "SampleBucketPolicy2": {
      "Type": "AWS::S3::BucketPolicy",
      "Properties": {
        "Bucket": {
          "Ref": "DOC-EXAMPLE-BUCKET"
        },
        "PolicyDocument": {
          "Statement": [
            {
              "Action": [
                "s3:ListObject"
              ],
              "Effect": "Deny",
              "Resource": "*",
              "Principal": "*",
              "Condition": {
                "StringLike": {
                  "aws:Referer": [
                    "http://www.example.com/*",
                    "http://example.net/*"
                  ]
                }
              }
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Non-Compliant Code Examples

#this is a problematic code where the query should report a result(s)
Resources:
  SampleBucketPolicy3:
    Type: 'AWS::S3::BucketPolicy'
    Properties:
      Bucket: !Ref DOC-EXAMPLE-BUCKET
      PolicyDocument:
        Statement:
          - Action: "ListObject"
            Effect: Allow
            Resource: "*"
            Principal: "*"
            Condition:
              StringLike:
                'aws:Referer':
                  - 'http://www.example.com/*'
                  - 'http://example.net/*'
  SampleBucketPolicy4:
    Type: 'AWS::S3::BucketPolicy'
    Properties:
      Bucket: !Ref DOC-EXAMPLE-BUCKET
      PolicyDocument:
        Statement:
          - Action:
              - "ListObject"
              - "GetObject"
            Effect: Allow
            Resource: "*"
            Principal: "*"
            Condition:
              StringLike:
                'aws:Referer':
                  - 'http://www.example.com/*'
                  - 'http://example.net/*'

{
  "Resources": {
    "SampleBucketPolicy5": {
      "Type": "AWS::S3::BucketPolicy",
      "Properties": {
        "Bucket": {
          "Ref": "DOC-EXAMPLE-BUCKET"
        },
        "PolicyDocument": {
          "Statement": [
            {
              "Action": "ListObject",
              "Effect": "Allow",
              "Resource": "*",
              "Principal": "*",
              "Condition": {
                "StringLike": {
                  "aws:Referer": [
                    "http://www.example.com/*",
                    "http://example.net/*"
                  ]
                }
              }
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    },
    "SampleBucketPolicy6": {
      "Type": "AWS::S3::BucketPolicy",
      "Properties": {
        "Bucket": {
          "Ref": "DOC-EXAMPLE-BUCKET"
        },
        "PolicyDocument": {
          "Statement": [
            {
              "Action": [
                "ListObject",
                "GetObject"
              ],
              "Effect": "Allow",
              "Resource": "*",
              "Principal": "*",
              "Condition": {
                "StringLike": {
                  "aws:Referer": [
                    "http://www.example.com/*",
                    "http://example.net/*"
                  ]
                }
              }
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    }
  }
}