---
title: VPC Flow Logs disabled
description: Datadog, the leading service for cloud-scale monitoring.
breadcrumbs: >-
  Docs > Datadog Security > Code Security > Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
  Security > IaC Security Rules > VPC Flow Logs disabled
---

# VPC Flow Logs 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). ().
{% /alert %}

{% /callout %}

## Metadata{% #metadata %}

**Id:** `f83121ea-03da-434f-9277-9cd247ab3047`

**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/vpc)

### Description{% #description %}

Enabling VPC Flow Logs ensures that all network traffic within a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) is captured and monitored for security and compliance purposes. Without the `vpc_id` attribute set for each `aws_flow_log` resource, as shown below, critical visibility into network traffic can be lost, making it difficult to detect suspicious activity or troubleshoot networking issues. To ensure accountability and monitoring, every VPC resource should have an associated flow log defined as follows:

```
resource "aws_vpc" "main" {
  cidr_block = "10.0.0.0/16"
}

resource "aws_flow_log" "main" {
  iam_role_arn    = aws_iam_role.example.arn
  log_destination = aws_cloudwatch_log_group.example.arn
  traffic_type    = "ALL"
  vpc_id          = aws_vpc.main.id
}
```

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

```terraform
module "vpc" {
  source  = "terraform-aws-modules/vpc/aws"
  version = "3.7.0"

  name = "my-vpc"
  cidr = "10.0.0.0/16"

  azs             = ["eu-west-1a", "eu-west-1b", "eu-west-1c"]
  private_subnets = ["10.0.1.0/24", "10.0.2.0/24", "10.0.3.0/24"]
  public_subnets  = ["10.0.101.0/24", "10.0.102.0/24", "10.0.103.0/24"]

  enable_nat_gateway = true
  enable_vpn_gateway = true
  enable_flow_log    = true

  tags = {
    Terraform   = "true"
    Environment = "dev"
  }
}
```

```terraform
resource "aws_vpc" "main" {
  cidr_block = "10.0.0.0/16"
}

resource "aws_flow_log" "example" {
  iam_role_arn    = aws_iam_role.example.arn
  log_destination = aws_cloudwatch_log_group.example.arn
  traffic_type    = "ALL"
  vpc_id          = aws_vpc.example.id
}

resource "aws_flow_log" "example2" {
  iam_role_arn    = aws_iam_role.example.arn
  log_destination = aws_cloudwatch_log_group.example.arn
  traffic_type    = "ALL"
  vpc_id          = aws_vpc.main.id
}
```

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

```terraform
resource "aws_vpc" "main" {
  cidr_block = "10.0.0.0/16"
}

resource "aws_flow_log" "example" {
  iam_role_arn    = aws_iam_role.example.arn
  log_destination = aws_cloudwatch_log_group.example.arn
  traffic_type    = "ALL"
  vpc_id          = aws_vpc.example.id
}

resource "aws_flow_log" "example2" {
  iam_role_arn    = aws_iam_role.example.arn
  log_destination = aws_cloudwatch_log_group.example.arn
  traffic_type    = "ALL"
  vpc_id          = aws_vpc.example2.id
}
```

```terraform
module "vpc" {
  source  = "terraform-aws-modules/vpc/aws"
  version = "3.7.0"

  name = "my-vpc"
  cidr = "10.0.0.0/16"

  azs             = ["eu-west-1a", "eu-west-1b", "eu-west-1c"]
  private_subnets = ["10.0.1.0/24", "10.0.2.0/24", "10.0.3.0/24"]
  public_subnets  = ["10.0.101.0/24", "10.0.102.0/24", "10.0.103.0/24"]

  enable_nat_gateway = true
  enable_vpn_gateway = true
  enable_flow_log    = false

  tags = {
    Terraform   = "true"
    Environment = "dev"
  }
}
```

```terraform
module "vpc" {
  source  = "terraform-aws-modules/vpc/aws"
  version = "3.7.0"

  name = "my-vpc"
  cidr = "10.0.0.0/16"

  azs             = ["eu-west-1a", "eu-west-1b", "eu-west-1c"]
  private_subnets = ["10.0.1.0/24", "10.0.2.0/24", "10.0.3.0/24"]
  public_subnets  = ["10.0.101.0/24", "10.0.102.0/24", "10.0.103.0/24"]

  enable_nat_gateway = true
  enable_vpn_gateway = true

  tags = {
    Terraform   = "true"
    Environment = "dev"
  }
}
```