CDN configuration is missing

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Metadata

Id: terraform-aws-cdn-configuration-is-missing

Provider: AWS

Platform: Terraform

Severity: Low

Category: Best Practices

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Provider Reference

Description

A misconfigured AWS CloudFront distribution may have the enabled attribute set to false, which means the CDN is disabled and will not provide the intended performance, availability, and security benefits. When a CloudFront distribution is not enabled, website traffic is routed directly to the origin, bypassing critical protections such as DDoS mitigation, geo-restriction, and integrated access controls. This exposes the origin servers to a higher risk of malicious traffic, information disclosure, or unauthorized access, potentially increasing the attack surface significantly. If this misconfiguration is left unaddressed, organizations lose important layers of defense and optimization for web applications and data, making resources more vulnerable to compromise or service disruption.

Compliant Code Examples

resource "aws_cloudfront_distribution" "negative1" {
  origin {
    domain_name = aws_s3_bucket.b.bucket_regional_domain_name
    origin_id   = local.s3_origin_id

    s3_origin_config {
      origin_access_identity = "origin-access-identity/cloudfront/ABCDEFG1234567"
    }
  }

  enabled             = true
  is_ipv6_enabled     = true
  comment             = "Some comment"
  default_root_object = "index.html"

  logging_config {
    include_cookies = false
    bucket          = "mylogs.s3.amazonaws.com"
    prefix          = "myprefix"
  }

  aliases = ["mysite.example.com", "yoursite.example.com"]

  default_cache_behavior {
    allowed_methods  = ["DELETE", "GET", "HEAD", "OPTIONS", "PATCH", "POST", "PUT"]
    cached_methods   = ["GET", "HEAD"]
    target_origin_id = local.s3_origin_id

    forwarded_values {
      query_string = false

      cookies {
        forward = "none"
      }
    }

    viewer_protocol_policy = "allow-all"
    min_ttl                = 0
    default_ttl            = 3600
    max_ttl                = 86400
  }

  price_class = "PriceClass_200"

  restrictions {
    geo_restriction {
      restriction_type = "whitelist"
      locations        = ["US", "CA", "GB", "DE"]
    }
  }

  tags = {
    Environment = "production"
  }

  viewer_certificate {
    cloudfront_default_certificate = true
  }
}

Non-Compliant Code Examples

resource "aws_cloudfront_distribution" "positive1" {
  origin {
    domain_name = aws_s3_bucket.b.bucket_regional_domain_name
    origin_id   = local.s3_origin_id

    s3_origin_config {
      origin_access_identity = "origin-access-identity/cloudfront/ABCDEFG1234567"
    }
  }

  enabled             = false
  is_ipv6_enabled     = true
  comment             = "Some comment"
  default_root_object = "index.html"

  logging_config {
    include_cookies = false
    bucket          = "mylogs.s3.amazonaws.com"
    prefix          = "myprefix"
  }

  aliases = ["mysite.example.com", "yoursite.example.com"]

  default_cache_behavior {
    allowed_methods  = ["DELETE", "GET", "HEAD", "OPTIONS", "PATCH", "POST", "PUT"]
    cached_methods   = ["GET", "HEAD"]
    target_origin_id = local.s3_origin_id

    forwarded_values {
      query_string = false

      cookies {
        forward = "none"
      }
    }

    viewer_protocol_policy = "allow-all"
    min_ttl                = 0
    default_ttl            = 3600
    max_ttl                = 86400
  }

  price_class = "PriceClass_200"

  restrictions {
    geo_restriction {
      restriction_type = "whitelist"
      locations        = ["US", "CA", "GB", "DE"]
    }
  }

  tags = {
    Environment = "production"
  }

  viewer_certificate {
    cloudfront_default_certificate = true
  }
}

resource "aws_cloudfront_distribution" "positive2" {
  enabled             = true
  is_ipv6_enabled     = true
  comment             = "Some comment"
  default_root_object = "index.html"

  logging_config {
    include_cookies = false
    bucket          = "mylogs.s3.amazonaws.com"
    prefix          = "myprefix"
  }

  aliases = ["mysite.example.com", "yoursite.example.com"]

  default_cache_behavior {
    allowed_methods  = ["DELETE", "GET", "HEAD", "OPTIONS", "PATCH", "POST", "PUT"]
    cached_methods   = ["GET", "HEAD"]
    target_origin_id = local.s3_origin_id

    forwarded_values {
      query_string = false

      cookies {
        forward = "none"
      }
    }

    viewer_protocol_policy = "allow-all"
    min_ttl                = 0
    default_ttl            = 3600
    max_ttl                = 86400
  }

  price_class = "PriceClass_200"

  restrictions {
    geo_restriction {
      restriction_type = "whitelist"
      locations        = ["US", "CA", "GB", "DE"]
    }
  }

  tags = {
    Environment = "production"
  }

  viewer_certificate {
    cloudfront_default_certificate = true
  }
}