---
title: Serverless function without dead-letter queue
description: Datadog, the leading service for cloud-scale monitoring.
breadcrumbs: >-
  Docs > Datadog Security > Code Security > Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
  Security > IaC Security Rules > Serverless function without dead-letter queue
---

# Serverless function without dead-letter queue

{% callout %}
# Important note for users on the following Datadog sites: app.ddog-gov.com, us2.ddog-gov.com

{% alert level="danger" %}
This product is not supported for your selected [Datadog site](https://docs.datadoghq.com/getting_started/site.md). ({% placeholder "user-datadog-site-name" /%}).
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## Metadata{% #metadata %}

**Id:** `cloudformation-aws-serverless-function-without-dead-letter-queue` 

**Provider:** AWS

**Platform:** CloudFormation

**Severity:** Low

**Category:** Insecure Configurations

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

- [Provider Reference](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/serverless-application-model/latest/developerguide/sam-resource-function.html#sam-function-deadletterqueue)

### Description{% #description %}

Serverless functions without a dead-letter queue (DLQ) can lose events from failed asynchronous invocations and make failure diagnosis and recovery difficult. For `AWS::Serverless::Function` resources, the `DeadLetterConfig` property must be defined and not `null`. The `DeadLetterConfig` should include a valid `TargetArn` that points to a durable target such as an Amazon SQS queue or an Amazon SNS topic; resources missing `DeadLetterConfig` or with it set to `null` will be flagged.

Secure configuration example:

```yaml
MyDeadLetterQueue:
  Type: AWS::SQS::Queue

MyFunction:
  Type: AWS::Serverless::Function
  Properties:
    Handler: index.handler
    Runtime: nodejs14.x
    DeadLetterConfig:
      TargetArn: !GetAtt MyDeadLetterQueue.Arn
```

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

```yaml
AWSTemplateFormatVersion: '2010-09-09'
Transform: AWS::Serverless-2016-10-31
Description: AWS SAM template with a simple API definition
Resources:
  Function1:
    Type: AWS::Serverless::Function
    Properties:
      PackageType: Image
      ImageUri: account-id.dkr.ecr.region.amazonaws.com/ecr-repo-name:image-name
      ImageConfig:
        Command:
          - "app.lambda_handler"
        EntryPoint:
          - "entrypoint1"
        WorkingDirectory: "workDir"
      Tags:
        - Key: Type
          Value: AWS Serverless Function
      DeadLetterConfig:
        TargetArn: arn:aws:sqs:us-east-1:2324243535:aaa
        Type: SQS
```

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

```yaml
AWSTemplateFormatVersion: '2010-09-09'
Transform: AWS::Serverless-2016-10-31
Description: AWS SAM template with a simple API definition
Resources:
  Function:
    Type: AWS::Serverless::Function
    Properties:
      PackageType: Image
      ImageUri: account-id.dkr.ecr.region.amazonaws.com/ecr-repo-name:image-name
      ImageConfig:
        Command:
          - "app.lambda_handler"
        EntryPoint:
          - "entrypoint1"
        WorkingDirectory: "workDir"
      Tags:
        - Key: Type
          Value: AWS Serverless Function
```