---
title: API Gateway access logging disabled
description: Datadog, the leading service for cloud-scale monitoring.
breadcrumbs: >-
  Docs > Datadog Security > Code Security > Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
  Security > IaC Security Rules > API Gateway access logging disabled
---

# API Gateway access logging disabled

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

{% alert level="danger" %}
This product is not supported for your selected [Datadog site](https://docs.datadoghq.com/getting_started/site.md). ().
{% /alert %}

{% /callout %}

## Metadata{% #metadata %}

**Id:** `1b6799eb-4a7a-4b04-9001-8cceb9999326`

**Cloud Provider:** AWS

**Platform:** Terraform

**Severity:** Medium

**Category:** Observability

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

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

### Description{% #description %}

When configuring an AWS API Gateway stage in Terraform, it is important to define the `access_log_settings` block to ensure that access logs are collected and sent to a centralized logging destination, such as an Amazon CloudWatch Logs group. Without specifying the `access_log_settings`, as shown in the configuration below, API requests and responses will not be logged, making it difficult to detect anomalous activity, debug issues, or perform security investigations:

```
resource "aws_api_gateway_stage" "example" {
  stage_name  = "dev"
  rest_api_id = "id"
  // Missing access_log_settings
}
```

The absence of access logging creates a blind spot in monitoring and incident response, potentially allowing malicious activities and API misuse to go unnoticed. To address this, always include the `access_log_settings` block in your API Gateway stage resource, specifying a valid `destination_arn`:

```
resource "aws_api_gateway_stage" "example" {
  stage_name  = "dev"
  rest_api_id = "id"

  access_log_settings {
    destination_arn = "arn:aws:logs:region:account-id:log-group:your-log-group"
  }
}
```

Enabling access logging helps meet compliance requirements and establishes a robust audit trail for all API interactions.

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

```terraform
resource "aws_api_gateway_stage" "negative1" {
  stage_name    = "dev"
  rest_api_id   = "id"

  access_log_settings {
    destination_arn = "dest"
  }
}

resource "aws_api_gateway_method_settings" "all" {
  stage_name  = aws_api_gateway_stage.negative1.stage_name
  method_path = "*/*"

  settings {
    metrics_enabled = true
    logging_level   = "ERROR"
  }
}

resource "aws_apigatewayv2_stage" "negative2" {
  stage_name    = "dev"
  rest_api_id   = "id"

  access_log_settings {
    destination_arn = "dest"
  }

  default_route_settings {
    logging_level   = "ERROR"
  }
}
```

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

```terraform
resource "aws_api_gateway_stage" "postive1" {
  stage_name    = "dev"
  rest_api_id   = "id"

  access_log_settings {
    destination_arn = "dest"
  }
}

resource "aws_api_gateway_method_settings" "all" {
  stage_name  = aws_api_gateway_stage.postive1.stage_name
  method_path = "*/*"

  settings {
  }
}


resource "aws_apigatewayv2_stage" "postive2" {
  stage_name    = "dev"
  rest_api_id   = "id"

  access_log_settings {
    destination_arn = "dest"
  }

  default_route_settings {
  }
}
```

```terraform
resource "aws_api_gateway_stage" "postive1" {
  stage_name    = "dev"
  rest_api_id   = "id"

  access_log_settings {
    destination_arn = "dest"
  }
}

resource "aws_api_gateway_method_settings" "all" {
  stage_name  = aws_api_gateway_stage.postive1.stage_name
  method_path = "*/*"

  settings {
    logging_level   = ""
  }
}

resource "aws_apigatewayv2_stage" "postive2" {
  stage_name    = "dev"
  rest_api_id   = "id"

  access_log_settings {
    destination_arn = "dest"
  }

  default_route_settings {
    logging_level   = ""
  }
}
```

```terraform
resource "aws_api_gateway_stage" "postive1" {
  stage_name    = "dev"
  rest_api_id   = "id"

  access_log_settings {
    destination_arn = "dest"
  }
}

resource "aws_api_gateway_method_settings" "all" {
  stage_name  = aws_api_gateway_stage.postive1.stage_name
  method_path = "*/*"

  settings {
    metrics_enabled = true
  }
}

resource "aws_apigatewayv2_stage" "postive2" {
  stage_name    = "dev"
  rest_api_id   = "id"

  access_log_settings {
    destination_arn = "dest"
  }

  default_route_settings {
    data_trace_enabled = "true"
  }
}
```