Sigma rule: RDS Database Security Group Modification

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-c29325b161eb, updated 2024-07-11T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
RDS Database Security Group Modification
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
jamesc-grafana
Date
2024-07-11
File
rules/cloud/aws/cloudtrail/aws_cloudtrail_security_group_change_rds.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects changes to the security group entries for RDS databases.
This can indicate that a misconfiguration has occurred which potentially exposes the database to the public internet, a wider audience within the VPC or that removal of valid rules has occurred which could impact the availability of the database to legitimate services and users.

Log source

product
aws
service
cloudtrail

Detection

selection:
    eventSource: 'rds.amazonaws.com'
    eventName:
        - 'AuthorizeDBSecurityGroupIngress'
        - 'CreateDBSecurityGroup'
        - 'DeleteDBSecurityGroup'
        - 'RevokeDBSecurityGroupIngress'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Creation of a new Database that needs new security group rules

Tags

  • attack.initial-access
  • attack.t1190

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

References

Read on 2026-11-03T00:58:21.399Z under licence sigma-drl-1.1@d5f4c36a from https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/cloud/aws/cloudtrail/aws_cloudtrail_security_group_change_rds.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "RDS Database Security Group Modification" by jamesc-grafana (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/cloud/aws/cloudtrail/aws_cloudtrail_security_group_change_rds.yml.
    Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-License

    Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1

Cite this page

Dragons Eye Ransomware Tracker, "Sigma rule: RDS Database Security Group Modification",
entity page, dataset version ref-c29325b161eb, updated 2024-07-11T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/14f3f1c8-02d5-43a2-a191-91ffb52d3015 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 14f3f1c8-02d5-43a2-a191-91ffb52d3015, commit ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84.

Pages change. The dataset version identifies the data, but no archive of old versions is kept, so this citation cannot be replayed later.