performing-cloud-asset-inventory-with-cartography

name: performing-cloud-asset-inventory-with-cartography description: Perform comprehensive cloud asset inventory and relationship mapping using Cartography to build a Neo4j security graph of infrastructure assets, IAM permissions, and attack paths across AWS, GCP, and Azure. domain: cybersecurity subdomain: cloud-security tags:

• cartography
• neo4j
• cloud-security
• asset-inventory
• attack-path
• graph-database
• cncf
• lyft version: '1.0' author: mahipal license: Apache-2.0 nist_csf:
• PR.IR-01
• ID.AM-08
• GV.SC-06
• DE.CM-01

Performing Cloud Asset Inventory with Cartography

Overview

Cartography is a CNCF sandbox project (originally created at Lyft) that consolidates infrastructure assets and their relationships into a Neo4j graph database. It queries cloud APIs to discover resources, maps relationships between them, and enables security teams to identify attack paths, generate asset reports, and find areas for security improvement. The graph model reveals hidden connections such as IAM permission chains, network paths, and cross-account trust relationships.

When to Use

• When conducting security assessments that involve performing cloud asset inventory with cartography
• When following incident response procedures for related security events
• When performing scheduled security testing or auditing activities
• When validating security controls through hands-on testing

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+
• Neo4j 4.x or 5.x database
• Cloud provider credentials (AWS, GCP, Azure)
• Docker (optional, for Neo4j deployment)
• Minimum 4GB RAM for Neo4j, more for large environments

Installation

# Install Cartography
pip install cartography

# Verify installation
cartography --help

Deploy Neo4j with Docker

docker run -d \
  --name neo4j \
  -p 7474:7474 -p 7687:7687 \
  -e NEO4J_AUTH=neo4j/changethispassword \
  -e NEO4J_PLUGINS='["apoc"]' \
  -v neo4j_data:/data \
  neo4j:5-community

Running Cartography

This section covers running cartography for performing cloud asset inventory with cartography.

• Ensure all prerequisites are met before proceeding
• Follow the documented workflow steps in sequence
• Record results and any anomalies encountered during this phase

Basic AWS Sync

# Sync AWS account data to Neo4j
cartography \
  --neo4j-uri bolt://localhost:7687 \
  --neo4j-user neo4j \
  --neo4j-password-env-var NEO4J_PASSWORD

Sync specific AWS modules

cartography \
  --neo4j-uri bolt://localhost:7687 \
  --neo4j-user neo4j \
  --neo4j-password-env-var NEO4J_PASSWORD \
  --aws-sync-all-profiles

GCP Sync

cartography \
  --neo4j-uri bolt://localhost:7687 \
  --neo4j-user neo4j \
  --neo4j-password-env-var NEO4J_PASSWORD \
  --gcp-requested-syncs compute iam storage

Security-Focused Cypher Queries

This section covers security-focused cypher queries for performing cloud asset inventory with cartography.

• Ensure all prerequisites are met before proceeding
• Follow the documented workflow steps in sequence
• Record results and any anomalies encountered during this phase

Find all S3 buckets with public access

MATCH (b:S3Bucket)
WHERE b.anonymous_access = true
   OR b.anonymous_actions IS NOT NULL
RETURN b.name, b.anonymous_actions, b.region, b.arn
ORDER BY b.name

Identify IAM users with admin policies

MATCH (user:AWSUser)-[:POLICY]->(policy:AWSPolicy)
WHERE policy.name = 'AdministratorAccess'
   OR policy.arn CONTAINS 'AdministratorAccess'
RETURN user.name, user.arn, policy.name, user.password_last_used

Find EC2 instances exposed to internet

MATCH (instance:EC2Instance)-[:MEMBER_OF_EC2_SECURITY_GROUP]->(sg:EC2SecurityGroup)
      -[:MEMBER_OF_EC2_SECURITY_GROUP_RULE]->(rule:IpRule)
WHERE rule.fromport <= 22 AND rule.toport >= 22
  AND rule.protocol IN ['tcp', '-1']
  AND '0.0.0.0/0' IN rule.ipranges
RETURN instance.instanceid, instance.publicipaddress, sg.groupid, sg.name

Discover cross-account trust relationships

MATCH (role:AWSRole)-[:TRUSTS_AWS_PRINCIPAL]->(principal:AWSPrincipal)
WHERE principal.arn CONTAINS ':root'
  AND NOT principal.arn CONTAINS role.accountid
RETURN role.arn, role.name, principal.arn AS trusted_account
ORDER BY role.name

Find attack path from public EC2 to sensitive S3

MATCH path = (instance:EC2Instance)-[:STS_ASSUME_ROLE_ALLOWS|MEMBER_OF_EC2_SECURITY_GROUP|
  POLICY|INSTANCE_PROFILE*1..5]->(bucket:S3Bucket)
WHERE instance.publicipaddress IS NOT NULL
  AND bucket.name CONTAINS 'sensitive'
RETURN path
LIMIT 25

Identify unused IAM roles

MATCH (role:AWSRole)
WHERE role.last_used IS NULL
   OR role.last_used < datetime().epochMillis - (90 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000)
RETURN role.name, role.arn, role.last_used
ORDER BY role.last_used

Find Lambda functions with overprivileged roles

MATCH (func:AWSLambda)-[:STS_ASSUME_ROLE_ALLOWS]->(role:AWSRole)-[:POLICY]->(policy:AWSPolicy)
WHERE policy.name = 'AdministratorAccess'
RETURN func.name, func.arn, role.name, policy.name

Network path analysis

MATCH (vpc:AWSVpc)-[:RESOURCE]->(subnet:EC2Subnet)-[:MEMBER_OF_SUBNET]->(instance:EC2Instance)
WHERE instance.publicipaddress IS NOT NULL
RETURN vpc.id, subnet.subnetid, subnet.cidr_block, instance.instanceid,
       instance.publicipaddress, instance.state

Scheduling Regular Syncs

This section covers scheduling regular syncs for performing cloud asset inventory with cartography.

• Ensure all prerequisites are met before proceeding
• Follow the documented workflow steps in sequence
• Record results and any anomalies encountered during this phase

Cron-based sync

# Add to crontab - sync every 6 hours
0 */6 * * * /usr/local/bin/cartography \
  --neo4j-uri bolt://localhost:7687 \
  --neo4j-user neo4j \
  --neo4j-password-env-var NEO4J_PASSWORD \
  >> /var/log/cartography/sync.log 2>&1

Docker Compose deployment

version: '3.8'
services:
  neo4j:
    image: neo4j:5-community
    ports:
      - "7474:7474"
      - "7687:7687"
    environment:
      NEO4J_AUTH: neo4j/securepwd123
      NEO4J_PLUGINS: '["apoc"]'
      NEO4J_dbms_memory_heap_max__size: 4G
    volumes:
      - neo4j_data:/data

  cartography:
    image: ghcr.io/cartography-cncf/cartography:latest
    depends_on:
      - neo4j
    environment:
      NEO4J_PASSWORD: securepwd123
      AWS_DEFAULT_REGION: us-east-1
    command: >
      --neo4j-uri bolt://neo4j:7687
      --neo4j-user neo4j
      --neo4j-password-env-var NEO4J_PASSWORD

volumes:
  neo4j_data:

Data Model Overview

This section covers data model overview for performing cloud asset inventory with cartography.

• Ensure all prerequisites are met before proceeding
• Follow the documented workflow steps in sequence
• Record results and any anomalies encountered during this phase

Key Node Types

• AWSAccount, GCPProject, AzureSubscription
• EC2Instance, S3Bucket, RDSInstance, AWSLambda
• AWSUser, AWSRole, AWSGroup, AWSPolicy
• EC2SecurityGroup, EC2Subnet, AWSVpc
• GCPInstance, GCSBucket, GCPRole

Key Relationship Types

• RESOURCE: Account owns resource
• POLICY: Principal has policy attached
• STS_ASSUME_ROLE_ALLOWS: Principal can assume role
• MEMBER_OF_EC2_SECURITY_GROUP: Instance belongs to SG
• TRUSTS_AWS_PRINCIPAL: Cross-account trust

When NOT to Use

• You don't have explicit written authorization to test
• Task is about defense/detection, not offense (use detection skills)
• You need to implement security controls (use implementing-* skills)
• Task requires compliance auditing (use auditing-* skills)
• You're investigating an incident (use incident response skills)
• Target is out of scope for your engagement
• Task is about vulnerability scanning only (use scanning tools)

Red Flags

• Performing actions without explicit written authorization from the asset owner
• Testing against production systems without a defined scope and rules of engagement
• Modifying cloud IAM policies or security groups without approval
• Exposing cloud credentials or secrets in logs or reports
• Running scans that generate excessive API calls and trigger billing alerts

Verification

• All steps executed successfully against a test environment before production use
• Output documented with screenshots or logs demonstrating expected behavior
• Cloud resource changes reverted or documented as intentional
• IAM policies reviewed for least-privilege compliance after testing
• No residual test resources left running (cost and security check)

References

• Cartography GitHub: https://github.com/cartography-cncf/cartography
• Cartography Documentation: https://cartography.dev
• CNCF Sandbox Project
• Neo4j Cypher Query Language Reference

Process

1. Analyze the task requirements
2. Apply domain expertise
3. Verify output quality

Anti-Rationalization