> **USE WHEN:** Securing Terraform, CloudFormation, Ansible, Pulumi, or other IaC configurations. > **DO NOT USE FOR:** General IaC patterns, cloud architecture design, cost optimization.
Scanned 9/8/2026
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# Infrastructure as Code Security Skill
> **USE WHEN:** Securing Terraform, CloudFormation, Ansible, Pulumi, or other IaC configurations.
> **DO NOT USE FOR:** General IaC patterns, cloud architecture design, cost optimization.
## IaC Security Overview
### Common Vulnerability Categories
| Category | Examples |
|----------|----------|
| **Secrets Exposure** | Hardcoded API keys, passwords in plaintext |
| **Overly Permissive IAM** | `*` actions, `*` resources |
| **Network Exposure** | 0.0.0.0/0 ingress, public S3 buckets |
| **Missing Encryption** | Unencrypted EBS, S3, RDS |
| **Logging Disabled** | No CloudTrail, no VPC flow logs |
| **Resource Misconfig** | Default security groups, weak TLS |
## Terraform Security
### Secrets Management
```hcl
# Bad: Hardcoded secrets
resource "aws_db_instance" "main" {
password = "mysecretpassword" # Never do this!
}
# Good: Use variables with sensitive flag
variable "db_password" {
type = string
sensitive = true
}
resource "aws_db_instance" "main" {
password = var.db_password
}
# Better: Use AWS Secrets Manager
data "aws_secretsmanager_secret_version" "db" {
secret_id = "production/db/password"
}
resource "aws_db_instance" "main" {
password = jsondecode(data.aws_secretsmanager_secret_version.db.secret_string)["password"]
}
# Best: Use external secrets with SOPS or Vault
data "sops_file" "secrets" {
source_file = "secrets.enc.yaml"
}
resource "aws_db_instance" "main" {
password = data.sops_file.secrets.data["db_password"]
}
```
### IAM Least Privilege
```hcl
# Bad: Overly permissive
resource "aws_iam_policy" "bad" {
policy = jsonencode({
Version = "2012-10-17"
Statement = [{
Effect = "Allow"
Action = "*"
Resource = "*"
}]
})
}
# Good: Least privilege
resource "aws_iam_policy" "good" {
policy = jsonencode({
Version = "2012-10-17"
Statement = [{
Effect = "Allow"
Action = [
"s3:GetObject",
"s3:PutObject"
]
Resource = [
"${aws_s3_bucket.data.arn}/*"
]
Condition = {
StringEquals = {
"s3:x-amz-acl" = "bucket-owner-full-control"
}
}
}]
})
}
# Good: Use AWS IAM Access Analyzer
resource "aws_accessanalyzer_analyzer" "main" {
analyzer_name = "main"
type = "ACCOUNT"
}
```
### Network Security
```hcl
# Bad: Open to the world
resource "aws_security_group" "bad" {
ingress {
from_port = 22
to_port = 22
protocol = "tcp"
cidr_blocks = ["0.0.0.0/0"] # SSH open to internet!
}
}
# Good: Restricted access
resource "aws_security_group" "good" {
ingress {
from_port = 22
to_port = 22
protocol = "tcp"
security_groups = [aws_security_group.bastion.id] # Only from bastion
}
ingress {
from_port = 443
to_port = 443
protocol = "tcp"
cidr_blocks = [var.corporate_cidr] # Only corporate network
}
egress {
from_port = 443
to_port = 443
protocol = "tcp"
cidr_blocks = ["0.0.0.0/0"] # HTTPS egress OK
}
}
```
### Encryption at Rest
```hcl
# S3 with encryption
resource "aws_s3_bucket" "secure" {
bucket = "my-secure-bucket"
}
resource "aws_s3_bucket_server_side_encryption_configuration" "secure" {
bucket = aws_s3_bucket.secure.id
rule {
apply_server_side_encryption_by_default {
sse_algorithm = "aws:kms"
kms_master_key_id = aws_kms_key.main.arn
}
bucket_key_enabled = true
}
}
resource "aws_s3_bucket_public_access_block" "secure" {
bucket = aws_s3_bucket.secure.id
block_public_acls = true
block_public_policy = true
ignore_public_acls = true
restrict_public_buckets = true
}
# RDS with encryption
resource "aws_db_instance" "secure" {
storage_encrypted = true
kms_key_id = aws_kms_key.rds.arn
# Additional security
deletion_protection = true
skip_final_snapshot = false
# Logging
enabled_cloudwatch_logs_exports = ["postgresql", "upgrade"]
}
# EBS encryption by default
resource "aws_ebs_encryption_by_default" "main" {
enabled = true
}
```
### Logging and Monitoring
```hcl
# CloudTrail for all regions
resource "aws_cloudtrail" "main" {
name = "main-trail"
s3_bucket_name = aws_s3_bucket.cloudtrail.id
include_global_service_events = true
is_multi_region_trail = true
enable_log_file_validation = true
kms_key_id = aws_kms_key.cloudtrail.arn
event_selector {
read_write_type = "All"
include_management_events = true
data_resource {
type = "AWS::S3::Object"
values = ["arn:aws:s3"]
}
}
}
# VPC Flow Logs
resource "aws_flow_log" "main" {
iam_role_arn = aws_iam_role.flow_log.arn
log_destination = aws_cloudwatch_log_group.flow_log.arn
traffic_type = "ALL"
vpc_id = aws_vpc.main.id
}
```
## CloudFormation Security
### Secure Template Patterns
```yaml
AWSTemplateFormatVersion: '2010-09-09'
Parameters:
# Use NoEcho for sensitive params
DBPassword:
Type: String
NoEcho: true
MinLength: 16
AllowedPattern: '^[a-zA-Z0-9!@#$%^&*()_+-=]+$'
Resources:
# S3 with encryption
SecureBucket:
Type: AWS::S3::Bucket
Properties:
BucketEncryption:
ServerSideEncryptionConfiguration:
- ServerSideEncryptionByDefault:
SSEAlgorithm: aws:kms
KMSMasterKeyID: !Ref KMSKey
PublicAccessBlockConfiguration:
BlockPublicAcls: true
BlockPublicPolicy: true
IgnorePublicAcls: true
RestrictPublicBuckets: true
VersioningConfiguration:
Status: Enabled
LoggingConfiguration:
DestinationBucketName: !Ref LogBucket
LogFilePrefix: s3-access-logs/
# Security Group with minimal access
AppSecurityGroup:
Type: AWS::EC2::SecurityGroup
Properties:
GroupDescription: Application security group
VpcId: !Ref VPC
SecurityGroupIngress:
- IpProtocol: tcp
FromPort: 443
ToPort: 443
SourceSecurityGroupId: !Ref ALBSecurityGroup
SecurityGroupEgress:
- IpProtocol: tcp
FromPort: 443
ToPort: 443
CidrIp: 0.0.0.0/0
Metadata:
# cfn-nag suppressions (document exceptions)
cfn-lint:
config:
ignore_checks:
- W3011
```
## Kubernetes Manifests (Kustomize/Helm)
### Secure Defaults
```yaml
# kustomization.yaml with security patches
apiVersion: kustomize.config.k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: Kustomization
resources:
- deployment.yaml
- service.yaml
patches:
- patch: |-
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
name: any
spec:
template:
spec:
securityContext:
runAsNonRoot: true
seccompProfile:
type: RuntimeDefault
containers:
- name: any
securityContext:
allowPrivilegeEscalation: false
capabilities:
drop:
- ALL
readOnlyRootFilesystem: true
target:
kind: Deployment
```
### Helm Security Values
```yaml
# values.yaml
securityContext:
runAsNonRoot: true
runAsUser: 1001
runAsGroup: 1001
fsGroup: 1001
containerSecurityContext:
allowPrivilegeEscalation: false
readOnlyRootFilesystem: true
capabilities:
drop:
- ALL
resources:
limits:
cpu: 500m
memory: 512Mi
requests:
cpu: 100m
memory: 256Mi
networkPolicy:
enabled: true
ingress:
- from:
- namespaceSelector:
matchLabels:
name: ingress-nginx
egress:
- to:
- namespaceSelector:
matchLabels:
name: database
```
## IaC Scanning Tools
### Checkov (Comprehensive)
```bash
# Scan Terraform
checkov -d ./terraform --framework terraform
# Scan with specific checks
checkov -d . --check CKV_AWS_18,CKV_AWS_19
# Output formats
checkov -d . -o sarif -o cli
# Skip specific checks
checkov -d . --skip-check CKV_AWS_18
```
### tfsec (Terraform-specific)
```bash
# Basic scan
tfsec .
# With severity filter
tfsec . --minimum-severity HIGH
# Custom config
# .tfsec/config.yml
severity_overrides:
aws-s3-enable-bucket-logging: LOW
aws-ec2-no-public-ip-subnet: ERROR
```
### Terrascan
```bash
# Scan with all policies
terrascan scan -d ./terraform
# Specific policy
terrascan scan -d . -p aws
# Generate SARIF
terrascan scan -d . -o sarif > results.sarif
```
### KICS (Multi-IaC)
```bash
# Scan multiple IaC types
kics scan -p ./terraform -p ./kubernetes -p ./ansible
# With exclusions
kics scan -p . --exclude-queries "CIS-*"
```
## CI/CD Integration
```yaml
# GitHub Actions
name: IaC Security
on:
pull_request:
paths:
- 'terraform/**'
- 'kubernetes/**'
jobs:
security:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: Checkov Scan
uses: bridgecrewio/checkov-action@v12
with:
directory: terraform/
framework: terraform
output_format: sarif
output_file_path: checkov.sarif
- name: tfsec
uses: aquasecurity/tfsec-action@v1.0.0
with:
working_directory: terraform/
soft_fail: false
- name: Trivy Config Scan
uses: aquasecurity/trivy-action@master
with:
scan-type: 'config'
scan-ref: '.'
format: 'sarif'
output: 'trivy-config.sarif'
- name: Upload SARIF
uses: github/codeql-action/upload-sarif@v3
with:
sarif_file: checkov.sarif
```
## Pre-commit Hooks
```yaml
# .pre-commit-config.yaml
repos:
- repo: https://github.com/antonbabenko/pre-commit-terraform
rev: v1.86.0
hooks:
- id: terraform_fmt
- id: terraform_validate
- id: terraform_tfsec
- id: terraform_checkov
args:
- --args=--quiet
- --args=--compact
- repo: https://github.com/bridgecrewio/checkov
rev: 3.1.0
hooks:
- id: checkov
args:
- --quiet
- --compact
```
## Quick Reference: Critical Checks
| Resource | Critical Check | Tool |
|----------|----------------|------|
| S3 | Public access blocked | CKV_AWS_19 |
| S3 | Encryption enabled | CKV_AWS_18 |
| Security Group | No 0.0.0.0/0 SSH | CKV_AWS_24 |
| IAM | No wildcard actions | CKV_AWS_1 |
| RDS | Encryption enabled | CKV_AWS_16 |
| RDS | Not publicly accessible | CKV_AWS_17 |
| EBS | Encryption enabled | CKV_AWS_3 |
| CloudTrail | Enabled | CKV_AWS_35 |
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