AutoGineer summary
Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author
This skill provides a structured approach to AWS IAM management, focusing on correcting common AI pitfalls regarding policy evaluation, trust policies, and service-specific role configurations. It mandates the use of automated tools for policy generation when source code or Terraform plans are available, ensuring deterministic and secure outcomes. It covers critical edge cases including STS session limits, Organizations quirks, and condition operator safety, while providing clear guidelines for creating scoped service and execution roles with proper confused deputy protections.
What it does
- Provides verified corrections for common AI-generated IAM policy errors.
- Mandates automated policy generation for application source code and Terraform plan JSON files.
- Defines structured workflows for creating service and execution roles with confused deputy protection.
- Offers guidance on complex IAM topics like condition operators, trust policies, and Organizations.
- Supplies specific patterns for handling STS, SAML, MFA, and service-specific role requirements.
- Ensures adherence to security best practices by prioritizing official documentation over pre-training.
When to use it
- When creating or updating IAM roles for AWS services.
- When generating IAM policies from application source code or Terraform plan JSON files.
- When troubleshooting IAM policy evaluation, trust policy issues, or condition operator logic.
- When configuring cross-account access, STS sessions, or AWS Organizations policies.
- When implementing security-hardened service roles with source account and ARN restrictions.
Advantages
- Reduces security risks by enforcing confused deputy protection and scoped permissions.
- Eliminates manual policy construction errors through automated tool integration.
- Provides reliable, verified solutions for known IAM edge cases and pitfalls.
- Standardizes role management workflows across different AWS services.
- Ensures policy generation is reproducible and based on deterministic analysis.
Usage examples
- “Create an IAM execution role for a Lambda function that needs to read from a specific S3 bucket.”
- The agent will identify the Lambda service principal, construct a trust policy with appropriate source account conditions, and generate a scoped permissions policy for the S3 bucket.
- “Generate an IAM policy based on this Terraform plan JSON.”
- The agent will provide the exact uvx iam-policy-autopilot command to generate the policy, ensuring the output is derived from deterministic analysis of the plan.
Install
Download the skill as a ZIP:
https://autogineer.com/agent-skills/aws/aws-iam/downloadUnzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:
mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip aws-iam.zip -d .agents/skills
Documentation by AWS
AWS IAM — Common Pitfalls
About This Skill
This skill contains verified corrections for things that AI agents frequently get wrong about IAM. It is not a comprehensive IAM guide — for full IAM guidance, search AWS documentation. When answering IAM questions, verify specific claims (limits, quotas, exact API names, edge-case behaviors) against official AWS documentation rather than relying on pre-training. Prefer fetching known documentation URLs over broad searches. Trust official documentation over memory when they conflict.
Common Workflows
Use the best available tool for AWS operations — the AWS MCP server is recommended but not required; AWS CLI or SDK may be used as alternatives. Read reference files only when the conversation requires deeper detail.
Read references/aws-iam-role-management.md if the user needs to create, scope, or maintain IAM roles when provisioning or updating AWS resources. Covers service roles, execution roles, trust policies, confused deputy protection, and permission hygiene.
Read references/aws-iam-policy-generation.md if the user needs to generate IAM policies, determine required IAM actions for API calls, or understand action-to-operation mappings. CRITICAL: If the user provides application source code (in any language) or a Terraform plan JSON file (
terraform show -jsonoutput), you MUST read this reference — it mandates using iam-policy-autopilot instead of manual policy construction. Uses the programmatic service authorization reference for accurate mappings.
Verified Edge Cases
CloudTrail:
AcceptHandshake/DeclineHandshake logged in ACTING account ONLY, not management account. Organization trail required for centralization.
ConsoleLogin region varies by endpoint/cookies, NOT always us-east-1.
?region=forces specific region.
STS:
GetSessionToken restrictions: (1) No IAM APIs unless MFA included (2) No STS except AssumeRole and GetCallerIdentity.
Cross-account AssumeRole to opt-in region: TARGET account must enable region, not calling account.
Role chaining: max 1-hour session.
Organizations:
Suspended/closed accounts CANNOT be removed until permanently closed (~90 days). Remove FIRST, then close.
Policy management delegation: use PutResourcePolicy, NOT register-delegated-administrator.
AI opt-out policies: management account required by default.
Organizations policy types for ListPolicies filter: fetch the current list via
aws organizations list-available-policy-typesor the Organizations API reference.
SDK Specifics:
Organizations:
DuplicatePolicyAttachmentException(not PolicyAlreadyAttachedException).Boto3 IAM AccessKey: methods are
activate(),deactivate(),delete()— NOupdate().Instance profiles: waiter +
time.sleep(10)pattern.Managed policy max versions: 5.
SAML:
Encrypted assertions URL:
https://region-code.signin.aws.amazon.com/saml/acs/IdP-ID.Private key from IdP uploaded to IAM in .pem format.
Policy Evaluation:
ForAllValues with empty/missing key: evaluates to true (vacuous truth). To avoid that, use a
Nullcondition in addition to theForAllValueson the same context key to require that key to be present and non-null. For example, when evaluating theaws:TagKeyscontext key:{ "Version": "2012-10-17", "Statement": { "Effect": "Allow", "Action": "ec2:RunInstances", "Resource": "*", "Condition": { "ForAllValues:StringEquals": { "aws:TagKeys": ["Alpha", "Beta"] }, "Null": { "aws:TagKeys": "false" } } } }aws:TagKeysvalues are case-sensitive, but the tag key inaws:PrincipalTag/<key>,aws:ResourceTag/<key>, andaws:RequestTag/<key>is not. The Allow allowlist above is unaffected (a re-cased key is simply not in the list), but a Deny that protects a tag key withForAnyValue:StringEqualsonaws:TagKeysis bypassed by a re-cased key (PROTECTED-TAG) — useForAnyValue:StringEqualsIgnoreCase. See references/common-pitfalls.md.Resource-based policies granting to IAM user ARN bypass permissions boundaries in same account.
8 privilege escalation actions via direct IAM policy manipulation: PutGroupPolicy, PutRolePolicy, PutUserPolicy, CreatePolicy, CreatePolicyVersion, AttachGroupPolicy, AttachRolePolicy, AttachUserPolicy.
iam:PassRolewithResource: "*"+ create/update on a compute service (EC2RunInstances, LambdaCreateFunction/UpdateFunctionConfiguration, ECSRegisterTaskDefinition, Glue, SageMaker, CloudFormation, etc.) = privilege escalation to any passable role in the account, including Administrator. ScopeResourceto specific role ARNs or an IAM path; optionally constrain withiam:PassedToService/iam:AssociatedResourceArn. See IAM User Guide — Grant a user permissions to pass a role.
MFA:
Unassigned virtual MFA devices auto-deleted when adding new ones.
MFA resync-only policy NotAction needs exactly: iam:ListMFADevices, iam:ListVirtualMFADevices, iam:ResyncMFADevice.
SigV4:
IncompleteSignatureException includes SHA-256 hash of Authorization header for transit modification diagnosis.
Service-Specific Roles:
Redshift Serverless trust policy: include BOTH
redshift-serverless.amazonaws.comANDredshift.amazonaws.comas service principals (per AWS docs; omitting serverless causesNot authorized to get credentials of roleon COPY).IAM OIDC providers: thumbprints are not required for most providers (AWS verifies via trusted CAs).
Policy Summary Display:
Single statement with multi-service wildcard actions (e.g.
codebuild:*,codecommit:*) + service-specific resource ARNs: each resource appears ONLY under its matching service's summary (CodeBuild ARN under CodeBuild, etc.). A resource whose service prefix matches NO action in the statement is the only case where it appears in all action summaries ("mismatched resource").
Files
- ATTRIBUTION.mdAdded by AutoGineer879 B
- LICENSELicence file added by AutoGineer9.9 KiB
- NOTICELicence file added by AutoGineer67 B
- SKILL.md7.2 KiB
- references/aws-iam-policy-generation.md39.0 KiB
- references/aws-iam-role-management.md6.6 KiB
- references/common-pitfalls.md5.8 KiB
- references/service-authorization.md2.7 KiB
LICENSE
Apache License
Version 2.0, January 2004
http://www.apache.org/licenses/
TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR USE, REPRODUCTION, AND DISTRIBUTION
1. Definitions.
"License" shall mean the terms and conditions for use, reproduction,
and distribution as defined by Sections 1 through 9 of this document.
"Licensor" shall mean the copyright owner or entity authorized by
the copyright owner that is granting the License.
"Legal Entity" shall mean the union of the acting entity and all
other entities that control, are controlled by, or are under common
control with that entity. For the purposes of this definition,
"control" means (i) the power, direct or indirect, to cause the
direction or management of such entity, whether by contract or
otherwise, or (ii) ownership of fifty percent (50%) or more of the
outstanding shares, or (iii) beneficial ownership of such entity.
"You" (or "Your") shall mean an individual or Legal Entity
exercising permissions granted by this License.
"Source" form shall mean the preferred form for making modifications,
including but not limited to software source code, documentation
source, and configuration files.
"Object" form shall mean any form resulting from mechanical
transformation or translation of a Source form, including but
not limited to compiled object code, generated documentation,
and conversions to other media types.
"Work" shall mean the work of authorship, whether in Source or
Object form, made available under the License, as indicated by a
copyright notice that is included in or attached to the work
(an example is provided in the Appendix below).
"Derivative Works" shall mean any work, whether in Source or Object
form, that is based on (or derived from) the Work and for which the
editorial revisions, annotations, elaborations, or other modifications
represent, as a whole, an original work of authorship. For the purposes
of this License, Derivative Works shall not include works that remain
separable from, or merely link (or bind by name) to the interfaces of,
the Work and Derivative Works thereof.
"Contribution" shall mean any work of authorship, including
the original version of the Work and any modifications or additions
to that Work or Derivative Works thereof, that is intentionally
submitted to Licensor for inclusion in the Work by the copyright owner
or by an individual or Legal Entity authorized to submit on behalf of
the copyright owner. For the purposes of this definition, "submitted"
means any form of electronic, verbal, or written communication sent
to the Licensor or its representatives, including but not limited to
communication on electronic mailing lists, source code control systems,
and issue tracking systems that are managed by, or on behalf of, the
Licensor for the purpose of discussing and improving the Work, but
excluding communication that is conspicuously marked or otherwise
designated in writing by the copyright owner as "Not a Contribution."
"Contributor" shall mean Licensor and any individual or Legal Entity
on behalf of whom a Contribution has been received by Licensor and
subsequently incorporated within the Work.
2. Grant of Copyright License. Subject to the terms and conditions of
this License, each Contributor hereby grants to You a perpetual,
worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable
copyright license to reproduce, prepare Derivative Works of,
publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, and distribute the
Work and such Derivative Works in Source or Object form.
3. Grant of Patent License. Subject to the terms and conditions of
this License, each Contributor hereby grants to You a perpetual,
worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable
(except as stated in this section) patent license to make, have made,
use, offer to sell, sell, import, and otherwise transfer the Work,
where such license applies only to those patent claims licensable
by such Contributor that are necessarily infringed by their
Contribution(s) alone or by combination of their Contribution(s)
with the Work to which such Contribution(s) was submitted. If You
institute patent litigation against any entity (including a
cross-claim or counterclaim in a lawsuit) alleging that the Work
or a Contribution incorporated within the Work constitutes direct
or contributory patent infringement, then any patent licenses
granted to You under this License for that Work shall terminate
as of the date such litigation is filed.
4. Redistribution. You may reproduce and distribute copies of the
Work or Derivative Works thereof in any medium, with or without
modifications, and in Source or Object form, provided that You
meet the following conditions:
(a) You must give any other recipients of the Work or
Derivative Works a copy of this License; and
(b) You must cause any modified files to carry prominent notices
stating that You changed the files; and
(c) You must retain, in the Source form of any Derivative Works
that You distribute, all copyright, patent, trademark, and
attribution notices from the Source form of the Work,
excluding those notices that do not pertain to any part of
the Derivative Works; and
(d) If the Work includes a "NOTICE" text file as part of its
distribution, then any Derivative Works that You distribute must
include a readable copy of the attribution notices contained
within such NOTICE file, excluding those notices that do not
pertain to any part of the Derivative Works, in at least one
of the following places: within a NOTICE text file distributed
as part of the Derivative Works; within the Source form or
documentation, if provided along with the Derivative Works; or,
within a display generated by the Derivative Works, if and
wherever such third-party notices normally appear. The contents
of the NOTICE file are for informational purposes only and
do not modify the License. You may add Your own attribution
notices within Derivative Works that You distribute, alongside
or as an addendum to the NOTICE text from the Work, provided
that such additional attribution notices cannot be construed
as modifying the License.
You may add Your own copyright statement to Your modifications and
may provide additional or different license terms and conditions
for use, reproduction, or distribution of Your modifications, or
for any such Derivative Works as a whole, provided Your use,
reproduction, and distribution of the Work otherwise complies with
the conditions stated in this License.
5. Submission of Contributions. Unless You explicitly state otherwise,
any Contribution intentionally submitted for inclusion in the Work
by You to the Licensor shall be under the terms and conditions of
this License, without any additional terms or conditions.
Notwithstanding the above, nothing herein shall supersede or modify
the terms of any separate license agreement you may have executed
with Licensor regarding such Contributions.
6. Trademarks. This License does not grant permission to use the trade
names, trademarks, service marks, or product names of the Licensor,
except as required for reasonable and customary use in describing the
origin of the Work and reproducing the content of the NOTICE file.
7. Disclaimer of Warranty. Unless required by applicable law or
agreed to in writing, Licensor provides the Work (and each
Contributor provides its Contributions) on an "AS IS" BASIS,
WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or
implied, including, without limitation, any warranties or conditions
of TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY, or FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE. You are solely responsible for determining the
appropriateness of using or redistributing the Work and assume any
risks associated with Your exercise of permissions under this License.
8. Limitation of Liability. In no event and under no legal theory,
whether in tort (including negligence), contract, or otherwise,
unless required by applicable law (such as deliberate and grossly
negligent acts) or agreed to in writing, shall any Contributor be
liable to You for damages, including any direct, indirect, special,
incidental, or consequential damages of any character arising as a
result of this License or out of the use or inability to use the
Work (including but not limited to damages for loss of goodwill,
work stoppage, computer failure or malfunction, or any and all
other commercial damages or losses), even if such Contributor
has been advised of the possibility of such damages.
9. Accepting Warranty or Additional Liability. While redistributing
the Work or Derivative Works thereof, You may choose to offer,
and charge a fee for, acceptance of support, warranty, indemnity,
or other liability obligations and/or rights consistent with this
License. However, in accepting such obligations, You may act only
on Your own behalf and on Your sole responsibility, not on behalf
of any other Contributor, and only if You agree to indemnify,
defend, and hold each Contributor harmless for any liability
incurred by, or claims asserted against, such Contributor by reason
of your accepting any such warranty or additional liability.
Requirements and compatibility
Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta
“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.
Needs: Needs an MCP server
Security
What our scanner noticed· Low risk
- Phrasing that asks for actions without confirmation
- Instructions that use the network
A static scan is not a guarantee. Skills are third-party content: review a skill before you let an agent use it.
Attribution and licence
- Published by
- AWS
- Publisher
- AWS (Official)
- Source
- aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws · skills/core-skills/aws-iam · commit 0a218f8
- Licence
- Apache License 2.0 (redistribution allowed)
- LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE)
- NOTICE (added by AutoGineer from NOTICE)
- ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
- Synced
- Also distributed in
- aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws
AutoGineer is not affiliated with or endorsed by AWS or AWS.
Download ZIP
The ZIP holds the skill’s files, its licence files and an ATTRIBUTION.md. Download aws-iam.zip