aws auth_error ai_generated true

An error occurred (AccessDeniedException) when calling the X operation

ID: aws/access-denied-exception

Also available as: JSON · Markdown
82%Fix Rate
85%Confidence
355Evidence
2023-01-01First Seen

Version Compatibility

VersionStatusIntroducedDeprecatedNotes
2 active — — —

Root Cause

IAM permissions insufficient for the requested operation.

generic

Workarounds

  1. 85% success Check which specific permission is needed using CloudTrail or IAM Access Analyzer 
    aws cloudtrail lookup-events --lookup-attributes AttributeKey=EventName,AttributeValue=OperationName

    Sources: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access-analyzer-getting-started.html

  2. 82% success Add the minimum required IAM policy for the specific action and resource 
    # Create a minimal policy for the denied action:
aws iam put-user-policy --user-name myuser --policy-name AllowSpecificAction --policy-document '{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [{
    "Effect": "Allow",
    "Action": "s3:GetObject",
    "Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::my-bucket/*"
  }]
}'

# Replace the Action and Resource with the specific operation from the error message. Use IAM Access Analyzer to generate least-privilege policies.

    Sources: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access_policies_create.html

Dead Ends

Common approaches that don't work:

  1. Add AdministratorAccess policy 85% fail

    Severe security risk, violates least-privilege principle

  2. Use root account credentials 95% fail

    Root should never be used for API calls, critical security issue

Error Chain

Leads to:
Preceded by:
Frequently confused with: