My AWS Account ID Got Leaked - Should I Panic?

The Situation

An AWS Account ID is a 12-digit number like 123456789012 that identifies each AWS account. When this number becomes public through code repositories, documentation, or other sources, organizations often worry about security risks.

AWS Documentation

AWS states that Account IDs are not classified as secret, sensitive, or confidential information. According to the AWS documentation, Account IDs should be used carefully but are not considered secrets.

Risk Assessment

The security risks from exposed Account IDs are limited. Social engineering attacks represent a low likelihood but medium impact risk, where attackers may use Account IDs in phishing attempts to appear legitimate. However, attackers still need additional information such as contact details and social engineering skills to be effective.

Targeted reconnaissance also presents low likelihood and low impact risks. While Account IDs help identify AWS usage, they provide minimal attack information and do not reveal services, configurations, or vulnerabilities.

Resource enumeration attempts to find publicly accessible resources in the account but only work if resources are already misconfigured to be public. This represents low likelihood with variable impact depending on what resources exist.

Cross-account policy exploitation has very low likelihood but high potential impact. This requires attackers to have the Account ID, valid AWS credentials, and existing policy misconfigurations simultaneously.

Recommended Actions

Organizations should take immediate steps to review cross-account IAM policies for excessive permissions and check for publicly accessible S3 buckets, EBS snapshots, or other resources. Enabling AWS CloudTrail to monitor cross-account access attempts is essential if not already active. Organizations should also verify that no wildcard policies exist that allow unauthorized access.

For ongoing monitoring, setting up CloudWatch alerts for unusual cross-account API calls provides early warning of potential issues. Enabling AWS GuardDuty for threat detection and conducting regular security assessments help maintain security posture over time.

Organizations should avoid changing the Account ID, which is not possible, and should not rotate all credentials since Account ID exposure does not compromise access keys. Migrating to a new account represents an excessive response to this level of risk.

The Bottom Line

AWS Account IDs are not secrets by design. They appear in ARNs and are visible throughout AWS services as part of normal operations. Security efforts should focus on proper IAM configuration, securing actual credentials, and monitoring for threats rather than treating Account ID exposure as a critical incident. An Account ID is more like a phone number - it identifies you, but knowing it does not give someone access to your house.

When to Be Concerned

Immediate action is required when AWS access keys, secret keys, IAM user passwords, root account credentials, or private keys and certificates are exposed. These items provide direct access to resources, unlike Account IDs which serve only as identifiers.

Conclusion

Exposed AWS Account IDs represent a low security risk that requires proportional response. Organizations should review configurations and monitoring systems rather than implementing emergency procedures. Security resources are better focused on protecting actual credentials and maintaining proper access controls.

While the risk is low, organizations should avoid intentionally sharing Account IDs publicly to minimize potential exposure. Following basic information handling practices reduces unnecessary risk without requiring emergency response procedures.

This guidance applies specifically to AWS Account IDs. All other AWS credentials and sensitive information should follow strict security protocols.