Create Custom Policy - YAML - Attribute Check and Composite

Custom policies created in YAML support checking a resource’s connection state and the use of complex AND/OR logic. Read also how to create custom Python Policies for attribute scanning.

A YAML-based custom policy for Checkov consists of sections for the Metadata and Policy Definition.

Metadata

The Metadata includes:

Policy Name
ID - CKV2_<provider>_<number>
Category
Guideline (optional)
Severity (optional) - can be INFO, LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH, CRITICAL

The possible values for category are:

GENERAL_SECURITY
LOGGING
ENCRYPTION
NETWORKING
IAM
BACKUP_AND_RECOVERY
CONVENTION
SECRETS
KUBERNETES
APPLICATION_SECURITY
SUPPLY_CHAIN
API_SECURITY

The possible values for severity are:

INFO
LOW
MEDIUM
HIGH
CRITICAL

metadata:
  id: "CKV2_CUSTOM_1"
  name: "Ensure bucket has versioning and owner tag"
  category: "BACKUP_AND_RECOVERY"
  guideline: "https://docs.prismacloud.io/en/enterprise-edition/policy-reference/aws-policies/aws-general-policies/ckv2_custom_1"
  severity: "HIGH"

Policy Definition

The policy definition consists of:

Definition Block(s) - either Attribute Block(s) or Connection State Block(s) or both
Logical Operator(s) (optional)
Filter (optional)

The top level object under definition must be a single object (not a list). It can be an attribute block, a connection block, or a logical operator (and, or, not).

Types of Definition Blocks

Attribute Blocks: The policy describes resources with a certain configuration as defined by a configuration attribute and its value (per Terraform), or by the presence/absence of an attribute.
Connection State Blocks: The policy describes resources in a particular Connection state; either connected or not connected to another type of resource (for example, a security group).
Resource Type Blocks: The policy describes resource types that are either allowed or forbidden to use, commonly referred to as allow/deny lists.

Using AND/OR Logic

A policy definition may include multiple blocks (Attribute, Connection state or both), associated by AND/OR logic.

Using NOT Logic

A policy definition may include any block (Attribute, Connection state, or AND/OR) underneath a not block to invert the statement.

Attribute Blocks

An Attribute Block in a policy’s definition indicates that a resource will be non-compliant if a certain configuration attribute does not have a specified value or if it exists/doesn’t exist.

Prisma Cloud’s custom policies in code utilize the Terraform attribute library and syntax. These policies are checked during scans of both build-time and runtime resources and for all supported cloud providers.

Attribute Block Example

The Attribute Block in the definition in the example below is used to ensure that a proper back-up policy is configured for Redshift clusters:

definition:
     cond_type: "attribute"
     resource_types:
     - "aws_redshift_cluster"
     attribute: "automated_snapshot_retention_period"
     operator: "not_equals"
     value: "0"

Attribute Condition: Operators

Value in YAML	Description	Value types	Example
`equals`	Exact value match	String, Int, Bool	operator: “equals” value: “t3.nano”
`not_equals`	Not equal to the value	String, Int, Bool	operator: “not_equals” value: “t3.nano”
`regex_match`	The value must match the regular expression	String (RegEx)	operator: “regex_match” value: “^myex-.*”
`not_regex_match`	The value must not match the regular expression	String (RegEx)	operator: “not_regex_match” value: “^myex-.*”
`exists`	The attribute or connection appears in the resource definition	None	attribute: “name” operator: exists
`not_exists`	The attribute or connection does not appear in the resource	None	attribute: “name” operator: not_exists
`one_exists`	At least one connection of a specific type exists	None	resource_types: - aws_vpc connected_resource_types: - aws_flow_log operator: one_exists attribute: networking cond_type: connection
`contains`	Checks if an attribute’s value contains the specified values, supporting nested structures	String	operator: “contains” value: -“value1”
`not_contains`	Checks if an attribute’s value does not contain the specified values, supporting nested structures	String	operator: “not_contains” value: -“value1”
`within`	Checks if the attribute is within a given list of values	(List) String	operator: within - value1 - value2
`not_within`	Checks if the attribute is not within a given list of values	(List) Strings	operator: not_within value: - ‘value1’ - ‘value2’
`starting_with`	The attribute must begin with the value	String	operator: starting_with value: terraform-aws-modules
`not_starting_with`	The attribute must not begin with the value	String	operator: not_starting_with value: terraform-aws-modules
`ending_with`	The value used by the attribute must end with this string	String	operator: ending_with value: “-good”
`not_ending_with`	The value used by the attribute must not end with this string	String	operator: not_ending_with value: “-bad”
`greater_than`	The value used by the attribute must be greater than this value	String, Int	operator: greater_than value: “100”
`greater_than_or_equal`	The value used by the attribute must be greater than or equal to this value	String, Int	operator: less_than_or_equal value: “100”
`less_than`	The value used by the attribute must be less than this value	String, Int	operator: less_than value: “100”
`less_than_or_equal`	The value used by the attribute must be less than or equal to this value	String, Int	operator: less_than_or_equal value: “100”
`subset`	The values used by the attribute must be a subset of the listed values and not outside of that	(List) String	operator: subset value: - “a” - “b”
`not_subset`	The values used by the attribute must not be any of a subset of the listed values and not outside of that	(List) String	operator: not_subset value: - “a” - “b”
`is_empty`	The attribute must not have a value	None	attribute: “audit_log_config.*.exempted_members” operator: is_empty
`is_not_empty`	The attribute must have a value	None	attribute: “description” operator: is_not_empty
`length_equals`	The list of attributes of that type must be of this number	String, Int	resource_types: - aws_security_group attribute: ingress operator: length_equals value: “2”
`length_not_equals`	The list of attributes of that type must not be of this number	String, Int	resource_types: - aws_security_group attribute: ingress operator: length_not_equals value: “2”
`length_less_than`	The list of attributes of that type must be less than this number	String, Int	resource_types: - aws_security_group attribute: ingress operator: length_less_than value: “20”
`length_less_than_or_equal`	The list of attributes of that type must be less than or equal to this number	String, Int	resource_types: - aws_security_group attribute: ingress operator: length_less_than_or_equal value: “20”
`length_greater_than`	The list of attributes of that type must be greater than this number	String, Int	resource_types: - aws_security_group attribute: ingress operator: length_greater_than value: “20”
`length_greater_than_or_equal`	The list of attributes of that type must be greater than or equal to this number	String, Int	resource_types: - aws_security_group attribute: ingress operator: length_greater_than_or_equal value: “20”
`is_false`	The value of the attribute must be false	None	operator: is_false
`is_true`	The value of the attribute must be true	None	operator: is_true
`intersects`	Given 2 values, check if those values intersect	(List) Strings	attribute: “availability_zone” operator: “intersects” value: “us-“
`not_intersects`	Given 2 values, check if those values do not intersect	(List) Strings	attribute: “availability_zone” operator: “not_intersects” value: “us-“
`equals_ignore_case`	The value of the attribute equals this value, ignoring case for both	String	operator: “equals_ignore_case” value: “INGRESS”
`not_equals_ignore_case`	The value of the attribute does not equal this value, ignoring case for both	String	operator: “not_equals_ignore_case” value: “INGRESS”
`range_includes`	The range of the value or range of the attribute includes this value or range	String, Int	operator: “range_includes” value: 3000
`range_not_includes`	The range of the value or range of the attribute does not include this value or range	String, Int	operator: “range_not_includes” value: 3000
`number_of_words_equals`	The number of words in the value of the attribute is equal to this number	String, Int	operator: number_of_words_equals value: 6
`number_of_words_not_equals`	The number of words in the value of the attribute is not equal to this number	String, Int	operator: number_of_words_not_equals value: 6
`cidr_range_subset_attribute_solver`	The value must be inside the CIDR range or ranges	(List) String	operator: cidr_range_subset_attribute_solver value: “10.0.0.0/8”
`cidr_range_not_subset_attribute_solver`	The value must not be inside the CIDR range or ranges	(List) String	operator: cidr_range_not_subset_attribute_solver value: “10.0.0.0/8”

All those operators are supporting JSONPath attribute expression by adding the jsonpath_ prefix to the operator, for example - jsonpath_length_equals

Attribute Condition: Keys and Values

Key	Type	Value(s)
`cond_type`	string	Must be `attribute`
`resource_type`	collection of strings	Use either `all` or `[resource types from list]`
`attribute`	string	Attribute of defined resource types. For example, `automated_snapshot_retention_period`
`operator`	string	- `equals`, `not_equals`, `regex_match`, `not_regex_match`, `exists`, `not exists`, `any`, `contains`, `not_contains`, `within`, `starting_with`, `not_starting_with`, `ending_with`, `not_ending_with`, `greater_than`, `greater_than_or_equal`, `less_than`, `less_than_or_equal`, `is_empty`, `is_not_empty`, `length_equals`, `length_not_equals`, `length_greater_than`, `length_greater_than_or_equal`, `length_less_than`, `length_less_than_or_equal`, `is_true`, `is_false`, `intersects`, `not_intersects`
`value` (not relevant for operator: `exists`/`not_exists`)	string	User input.

Evaluating list attributes

You may use a wildcard (*) to evaluate all of the items within a list. You may use multiple wildcards to evaluated nested lists. If any item in the list matches the condition, then the condition passes.

For example, consider the following resource:

resource "aws_security_group" "sg" {
  ...
  ingress {
    cidr_blocks = ["0.0.0.0/0"]
    ...
  }
  ingress {
    cidr_blocks = ["192.168.1.0/24"]
    ...
  }
}

The following definition will return true, because one of the CIDR blocks contains 0.0.0.0/0:

cond_type: attribute
resource_types:
  - "aws_security_group"
attribute: "ingress.*.cidr_blocks"
operator: "contains"
value: "0.0.0.0/0"

Note that switching the operator to not_contains will still result in the evaluation being true, because there is also an element that does not contain 0.0.0.0/0. If you want to write a policy that fails if any CIDR block contains 0.0.0.0/0, consider the not operator, described below.

Connection State Block

A Connection State Block indicates a type of resource that has or does not have a connection to another type of resource. In the example presented in the table below, in order to be compliant, aws_lb and aws_elb must have connections to either aws_security_group or aws_default_security_group.

Group A	Group B
`aws_lb` `aws_elb`	`aws_security_group` `aws_default_security_group`

Connection State Example

The Connection State Block below indicates that to be compliant with the policy, resources of type aws_lb or of type aws_elb must be connected to either a resource of type aws_security_group or a resource of type aws_default_security_group.

definition:
       cond_type: "connection"
       resource_types:
           - "aws_elb"
           - "aws_lb"
       connected_resource_types:
         - "aws_security_group"
         - "aws_default_security_group"
       operator: "exists"

Connection State Condition: Operators

Operator	Value
Exists	`exists`
Not Exists	`not_exists`
One Exists	`one_exists`

Connection State Condition: Keys and Values

Key	Type	Values
`cond_type`	string	Must be `connection`
`resource_types`		Use either `all` or `[included resource type from list]`
`connected_resource_types`	collection of strings	Use either `all` or `[included resource type from list]`
`operator`	string	`exists`/`not exists`

Filters

Filters can be used to limit the types of resources relevant to a condition. Filters are most commonly used for Connection Blocks (for Attribute Blocks you can easily limit the resource type with the resource_type parameter). For example, you may want to enforce a policy only for a specific resource type (or types) from specific groups defined in the conditions. Filters are available only for AND logic at the top level.

Filter Example

The Custom Policy in this example ensures that all ELBs are attached to security groups as shown in the table below. In line with best practices, connections of this nature should be defined using the security_groups key.

Group A	Group B
`aws_elb`	`aws_security_group` `aws_default_security_group`
Not Exists	`not_exists`

definition:
 and:
      - cond_type: "filter"
        attribute: "resource_type"
        value:
           - "aws_elb"
        operator: "within"
      - cond_type: "connection"
        resource_types:
           - "aws_elb"
        connected_resource_types:
         - "aws_security_group"
         - "aws_default_security_group"
        operator: "exists"

Note: The condition above uses AND logic. See additional examples for complex logic in policy definitions.

Resource Type Blocks

A Resource Type Block in a policy’s definition indicates that a resource will be compliant/non-complaint depending on the resource type, which is allowed/forbidden. Use the exist operator to define an allowlist and the not_exist operator to define a blocklist.

Resource Type Block Example

The Resource Type Block in the definition in the example below is used to ensure CloudHSM cluster won’t be provisioned:

definition:
  cond_type: "resource"
  resource_types:
   - "aws_cloudhsm_v2_cluster"
  operator: "not_exists"

Using AND/OR Logic

The Prisma Cloud platform allows you to combine definition blocks using AND/OR operators.

The top-level logical operator is the first key below "definition" (and not an item in a collection). Most policies will start with an and or or key here, with multiple conditions nested within that.
Filter blocks apply (only) to the top-level and constitute an AND condition. For example, if you’d like to indicate a requirement for a Connection State between types of resources, but only within a certain subset of all of those resources. Every other logical operator applies within a collection. For example, you can use AND/OR logic in a collection of key-value pairs.
The value for the and or or key must be a list; each element of the list must be a valid definition on its own (i.e., a combination of attribute conditions, connection conditions, nested AND/OR, etc).

Example

The logic in the policy definition shown below is: AND[block 1,block 2,OR[block 3,block 4]].

#....
definition:
  and:
  - #filter block 1
  - #block 2
  - or:
    - #block 3
    - #block 4

See all examples of Custom Policies in code

Using NOT Logic

You can use not in the same places that you may use and and or to invert the nested condition definition. The value of the not element in the policy may be either a list containing exactly one element (which can also be nested more deeply), or any other type of block.

Example

The definition below inverts the example in the previous section.

#....
definition:
  not:
    and:
    - #filter block 1
    - #block 2
    - or:
      - #block 3
      - #block 4

The following code is also valid (the child of not is a list of length 1):

#....
definition:
  not:
  - and:
    - #filter block 1
    - #block 2
    - or:
      - #block 3
      - #block 4

See all examples of Custom Policies in code

Supported Frameworks

Ansible

Following resource_types are supported

block
tasks.[module name]

ex.

cond_type: attribute
resource_types:
  - tasks.ansible.builtin.uri
  - tasks.uri
attribute: url
operator: starting_with
value: "https://"

Note

In the case a module can be used without parameters by just adding the value to it, then it can be queried via a the special attribute __self__.

ex.

cond_type: "attribute"
resource_types:
  - "ansible.builtin.command"
  - "command"
attribute: "__self__"
operator: "not_contains"
value: "vim"

ARM

All resources can be referenced under resource_types. Currently, no support for connections.

Bicep

All resources can be referenced under resource_types. Any kind of connection between resources is supported

CloudFormation

All resources can be referenced under resource_types. Any kind of connection between resources is supported

Dockerfile

All official Docker instructions can be referenced under resource_types. Currently, no support for connections.

Note

Following attribute values are supported

content stores the raw data for an instruction
value stores the sanitized data for an instruction

ex.

RUN apt-get update \
 && sudo apt-get install vim

content: "RUN apt-get update \\\n && sudo apt-get install vim\n"
value: "apt-get update  && sudo apt-get install vim"

GitHub Actions

Following resource_types are supported

permissions on the root level
steps
jobs
on

Following connections are supported

steps -> jobs

Note

The value for permissions can be either a map or a single string. Map entries should be prefixed with permissions. key and a single string entry can be accessed by using permissions as the attribute.

ex.

cond_type: "attribute"
resource_types:
  - "permissions"
attribute: "permissions"
operator: "not_equals"
value: "write-all"

The value for on can be either a map, a string or a list of strings.

ex.

cond_type: attribute
resource_types:
  - "on"
attribute: on.push.branches
operator: contains
value: main

Kubernetes

All resources can be referenced under resource_types. Currently, no support for connections.

Terraform

All resources can be referenced under resource_types. Any kind of connection between resources is supported