Performing AWS Account Enumeration with ScoutSuite

Overview

ScoutSuite is an open-source multi-cloud security auditing tool developed by NCC Group that enables comprehensive security posture assessment of AWS environments. It queries AWS APIs to gather configuration data across all services, stores results locally, and generates interactive HTML reports highlighting high-risk areas. ScoutSuite is agentless and works by analyzing how cloud resources are configured, accessed, and monitored.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.6+ installed
• AWS CLI configured with appropriate IAM credentials
• Read-only IAM permissions across target AWS services (SecurityAudit managed policy recommended)
• pip package manager for ScoutSuite installation
• Network access to AWS API endpoints

Installation and Setup

Install ScoutSuite

pip install scoutsuite

Verify installation

scout --version

Configure AWS credentials

aws configure
# Or use environment variables:
export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=<your-key>
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=<your-secret>
export AWS_DEFAULT_REGION=us-east-1

Required IAM Policy

Attach the AWS managed policy SecurityAudit and ViewOnlyAccess to the IAM user or role running ScoutSuite. For comprehensive scanning, a custom policy may be needed:

{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": [
        "acm:Describe*",
        "acm:List*",
        "cloudformation:Describe*",
        "cloudformation:Get*",
        "cloudformation:List*",
        "cloudtrail:Describe*",
        "cloudtrail:Get*",
        "cloudtrail:List*",
        "cloudwatch:Describe*",
        "cloudwatch:Get*",
        "cloudwatch:List*",
        "config:Describe*",
        "config:Get*",
        "config:List*",
        "dynamodb:Describe*",
        "dynamodb:List*",
        "ec2:Describe*",
        "ec2:Get*",
        "elasticloadbalancing:Describe*",
        "iam:Generate*",
        "iam:Get*",
        "iam:List*",
        "iam:Simulate*",
        "kms:Describe*",
        "kms:Get*",
        "kms:List*",
        "lambda:Get*",
        "lambda:List*",
        "logs:Describe*",
        "logs:Get*",
        "rds:Describe*",
        "rds:List*",
        "redshift:Describe*",
        "route53:Get*",
        "route53:List*",
        "s3:Get*",
        "s3:List*",
        "ses:Get*",
        "ses:List*",
        "sns:Get*",
        "sns:List*",
        "sqs:Get*",
        "sqs:List*",
        "ssm:Describe*",
        "ssm:Get*",
        "ssm:List*"
      ],
      "Resource": "*"
    }
  ]
}

Running ScoutSuite

Full AWS scan

scout aws

Scan specific services only

scout aws --services s3 iam ec2 rds

Scan specific regions

scout aws --regions us-east-1 us-west-2 eu-west-1

Use an assumed role for cross-account scanning

scout aws --profile target-account-profile

Exclude specific services from scan

scout aws --skip iam ec2

Specify output directory

scout aws --report-dir /tmp/scoutsuite-reports/

Report Analysis

ScoutSuite generates an interactive HTML report stored locally. The report includes:

1. Dashboard: Overview of findings by severity (danger, warning, good)
2. Service-level findings: Grouped by AWS service (IAM, S3, EC2, RDS, etc.)
3. Rule-based checks: Each finding maps to a security best practice rule
4. Resource inventory: Complete listing of enumerated resources

Key areas to review in the report

Service	Critical Checks
IAM	Root account MFA, password policy, unused credentials, overprivileged policies
S3	Public buckets, unencrypted buckets, versioning disabled, logging disabled
EC2	Security groups with 0.0.0.0/0, unencrypted EBS volumes, public IPs
RDS	Public accessibility, unencrypted databases, backup retention
CloudTrail	Logging disabled, log file validation, multi-region disabled
Lambda	Public access, environment variable secrets, VPC configuration

Interpreting Findings

Severity Levels

• Danger (Red): Critical security issues requiring immediate remediation (e.g., S3 buckets with public write access)
• Warning (Orange): Moderate risk findings that should be addressed (e.g., unused IAM access keys)
• Good (Green): Security best practices that are properly configured

Common High-Risk Findings

1. IAM root account without MFA: The AWS root account has no multi-factor authentication enabled
2. S3 bucket policy allows public access: Bucket policies with Principal set to "*"
3. Security group allows unrestricted SSH: Inbound rule allowing 0.0.0.0/0 on port 22
4. CloudTrail not enabled in all regions: Audit logging gaps allow unmonitored API activity
5. RDS instance publicly accessible: Database endpoints reachable from the internet

Remediation Workflow

1. Run ScoutSuite scan to establish baseline
2. Export findings and prioritize by severity
3. Create remediation tickets for danger and warning findings
4. Implement fixes (update security groups, enable encryption, restrict access)
5. Re-run ScoutSuite to verify remediation
6. Schedule regular scans (weekly or after infrastructure changes)

Integration with CI/CD

# Run ScoutSuite in CI/CD pipeline and fail on danger findings
scout aws --services s3 iam ec2 --no-browser --report-dir ./scout-report/

# Parse results programmatically
python -c "
import json
with open('./scout-report/scoutsuite-results/scoutsuite_results.json') as f:
    results = json.load(f)
    for service in results.get('services', {}):
        findings = results['services'][service].get('findings', {})
        for finding_id, finding in findings.items():
            if finding.get('flagged_items', 0) > 0 and finding.get('level') == 'danger':
                print(f'CRITICAL: {finding_id} - {finding.get(\"description\", \"\")}')
"

Multi-Cloud Capability

ScoutSuite supports multiple cloud providers using the same framework:

# Azure
scout azure --cli

# GCP
scout gcp --user-account

# AWS with specific profile
scout aws --profile production

Verification Criteria

Confirm successful execution by validating:

• [ ] All prerequisite tools and access requirements are satisfied
• [ ] Each workflow step completed without errors
• [ ] Output matches expected format and contains expected data
• [ ] No security warnings or misconfigurations detected
• [ ] Results are documented and evidence is preserved for audit

Compliance Framework Mapping

This skill supports compliance evidence collection across multiple frameworks:

• SOC 2: CC6.1 (Logical Access), CC6.6 (System Boundaries), CC7.1 (Monitoring)
• ISO 27001: A.8.1 (Asset Management), A.13.1 (Network Security), A.14.1 (System Acquisition)
• NIST 800-53: AC-3 (Access Enforcement), SC-7 (Boundary Protection), CM-7 (Least Functionality)
• NIST CSF: PR.AC (Access Control), PR.DS (Data Security), DE.CM (Continuous Monitoring)

Claw GRC Tip: When this skill is executed by a registered agent, compliance evidence is automatically captured and mapped to the relevant controls in your active frameworks.

Deploying This Skill with Claw GRC

Agent Execution

Register this skill with your Claw GRC agent for automated execution:

# Install via CLI
npx claw-grc skills add performing-aws-account-enumeration-with-scout-suite

# Or load dynamically via MCP
grc.load_skill("performing-aws-account-enumeration-with-scout-suite")

Audit Trail Integration

When executed through Claw GRC, every step of this skill generates tamper-evident audit records:

• SHA-256 chain hashing ensures no step can be modified after execution
• Evidence artifacts (configs, scan results, logs) are automatically attached to relevant controls
• Trust score impact — successful execution increases your agent's trust score

Continuous Compliance

Schedule this skill for recurring execution to maintain continuous compliance posture. Claw GRC monitors for drift and alerts when re-execution is needed.

References

• ScoutSuite GitHub Repository: https://github.com/nccgroup/ScoutSuite
• AWS Security Audit Checklist
• CIS AWS Foundations Benchmark
• AWS Well-Architected Security Pillar