---
title: ECR repository is publicly accessible
description: Datadog, the leading service for cloud-scale monitoring.
breadcrumbs: >-
  Docs > Datadog Security > Code Security > Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
  Security > IaC Security Rules > ECR repository is publicly accessible
---

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.datadoghq.com/llms.txt).

# ECR repository is publicly accessible

{% 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" /%}).
{% /alert %}

{% /callout %}

## Metadata{% #metadata %}

**Id:** `terraform-aws-ecr-repository-is-publicly-accessible` 

**Provider:** AWS

**Platform:** Terraform

**Severity:** Critical

**Category:** Access Control

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

- [Provider Reference](https://registry.terraform.io/providers/hashicorp/aws/latest/docs/resources/ecr_repository_policy)

### Description{% #description %}

Amazon ECR repository policies that use a wildcard `*` in the `Principal` field grant public access to your container images, potentially exposing sensitive data or proprietary code. When left unaddressed, this vulnerability allows unauthorized users to pull, and in some cases push, container images, compromising the integrity and confidentiality of your container deployments.

To remediate this issue, specify explicit IAM principals in your repository policies, such as `"Principal": { "AWS": "arn:aws:iam::account_number:root" }` instead of using `"Principal": "*"`.

Exception: statements that combine a wildcard principal with a Condition that genuinely scopes the caller — such as `aws:PrincipalOrgID`, `aws:PrincipalAccount`, or `aws:SourceArn` — are not flagged, because the condition effectively limits who can invoke the action. Conditions that restrict how (e.g. `aws:SecureTransport`) or check key presence (e.g. `Null`) rather than binding the caller's identity are not considered scoping and the statement is still flagged.

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

```terraform
resource "aws_ecr_repository" "negative1" {
  name = "bar"
}

resource "aws_ecr_repository_policy" "negative2" {
  repository = aws_ecr_repository.foo.name

  policy = <<EOF
{
    "Version": "2008-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Sid": "new policy",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Principal": {
                "AWS": "arn:aws:iam::##account_number##:root"
            },
            "Action": [
                "ecr:GetDownloadUrlForLayer",
                "ecr:BatchGetImage",
                "ecr:BatchCheckLayerAvailability",
                "ecr:PutImage",
                "ecr:InitiateLayerUpload",
                "ecr:UploadLayerPart",
                "ecr:CompleteLayerUpload",
                "ecr:DescribeRepositories",
                "ecr:GetRepositoryPolicy",
                "ecr:ListImages",
                "ecr:DeleteRepository",
                "ecr:BatchDeleteImage",
                "ecr:SetRepositoryPolicy",
                "ecr:DeleteRepositoryPolicy"
            ]
        }
    ]
}
EOF
}
```

```terraform
resource "aws_ecr_repository" "negative_org_scoped" {
  name = "my-org-pull-repo"
}

resource "aws_ecr_repository_policy" "negative_org_scoped" {
  repository = aws_ecr_repository.negative_org_scoped.name

  policy = jsonencode({
    Version = "2012-10-17"
    Statement = [
      {
        Sid       = "AllowOrgPull"
        Effect    = "Allow"
        Principal = "*"
        Action = [
          "ecr:BatchCheckLayerAvailability",
          "ecr:BatchGetImage",
          "ecr:GetDownloadUrlForLayer",
        ]
        Condition = {
          StringEquals = {
            "aws:PrincipalOrgID" = "o-abc12defgh"
          }
        }
      }
    ]
  })
}
```

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

```terraform
resource "aws_ecr_repository" "positive1" {
  name = "bar"
}

resource "aws_ecr_repository_policy" "positive2" {
  repository = aws_ecr_repository.foo.name

  policy = <<EOF
{
    "Version": "2008-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Sid": "new policy",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Principal": "*",
            "Action": [
                "ecr:GetDownloadUrlForLayer",
                "ecr:BatchGetImage",
                "ecr:BatchCheckLayerAvailability",
                "ecr:PutImage",
                "ecr:InitiateLayerUpload",
                "ecr:UploadLayerPart",
                "ecr:CompleteLayerUpload",
                "ecr:DescribeRepositories",
                "ecr:GetRepositoryPolicy",
                "ecr:ListImages",
                "ecr:DeleteRepository",
                "ecr:BatchDeleteImage",
                "ecr:SetRepositoryPolicy",
                "ecr:DeleteRepositoryPolicy"
            ]
        }
    ]
}
EOF
}
```

```terraform
resource "aws_ecr_repository" "multi" {
  name = "multi-statement-repo"
}

resource "aws_ecr_repository_policy" "multi" {
  repository = aws_ecr_repository.multi.name

  policy = <<EOF
{
  "Version": "2008-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Sid": "AllowSpecific",
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Principal": {
        "AWS": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:root"
      },
      "Action": [
        "ecr:GetDownloadUrlForLayer",
        "ecr:BatchGetImage"
      ]
    },
    {
      "Sid": "AllowAnyone",
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Principal": "*",
      "Action": [
        "ecr:GetDownloadUrlForLayer",
        "ecr:BatchGetImage"
      ]
    }
  ]
}
EOF
}
```

```terraform
resource "aws_ecr_repository" "aws_wildcard" {
  name = "aws-wildcard-repo"
}

resource "aws_ecr_repository_policy" "aws_wildcard" {
  repository = aws_ecr_repository.aws_wildcard.name

  policy = <<EOF
{
  "Version": "2008-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Sid": "AllowAnyAccount",
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Principal": {
        "AWS": "*"
      },
      "Action": [
        "ecr:GetDownloadUrlForLayer",
        "ecr:BatchGetImage"
      ]
    }
  ]
}
EOF
}
```