CloudTrail log file validation is not enabled
- Severity
- Low
- Service
- CloudTrail
- Check ID
- CLOUDTRAIL_NO_LOG_VALIDATION
What this check finds
Log file validation creates a digest file with a hash of every log file CloudTrail writes. Without it, log files could be silently modified or deleted without detection, undermining audit integrity.
Passing looks like: CloudTrail log file validation enabled.
How to fix it
Enable log file validation on all CloudTrail trails.
AWS CLI
aws cloudtrail update-trail --name TRAIL_NAME --enable-log-file-validation
Names in capitals are placeholders for your own resource. Review a command before you run it.
AWS console
CloudTrail → Trails → select trail → Edit → Log file validation → Enabled.
Compliance controls it is evidence for
A failing result counts against these controls in KloudLytics; a passing one is evidence towards them. How compliance mapping works
| Framework | Controls |
|---|---|
| CIS AWS Foundations Benchmark v5.0.0 |
|
| PCI-DSS v4.0.1 |
|
| HIPAA Security Rule |
|
| SOC 2 — Trust Services Criteria |
|
| NIST SP 800-53 Rev5 (Moderate) |
|
| NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 |
|
| ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A |
|
Checked on every scan
KloudLytics runs this check each time it scans a connected AWS account, through a read-only role, and lists every affected resource with its region. On Pro and Business a fix is written for the specific resource rather than the general case above. The exact access it needs
More CloudTrail checks
- CriticalS3 bucket used for CloudTrail logs is publicly accessible
- HighCloudTrail trail does not log all management events (Read + Write)
- MediumCloudTrail is not logging S3 data events
- MediumCloudTrail logs are not encrypted with KMS
- MediumCloudTrail logs are not integrated with CloudWatch Logs
- LowCloudTrail Insights is not enabled on the trail
- LowCloudTrail is not enabled
- LowCloudTrail S3 bucket does not have server-access logging enabled