Logging Amazon CloudWatch API calls with Amazon CloudTrail
Amazon CloudWatch and CloudWatch Synthetics are integrated with Amazon CloudTrail, a service that provides a record of actions taken by a user, role, or an Amazon service. CloudTrail captures API calls made by or on behalf of your Amazon account. The captured calls include calls from the console and code calls to API operations.
If you create a trail, you can enable continuous delivery of CloudTrail events to an S3 bucket, including events for CloudWatch. If you don't configure a trail, you can still view the most recent events in the CloudTrail console in Event history. Using the information collected by CloudTrail, you can determine the request that was made to CloudWatch, the IP address from which the request was made, who made the request, when it was made, and other details.
To learn more about CloudTrail, including how to configure and enable it, see the Amazon CloudTrail User Guide.
Every event or log entry contains information about who generated the request. The identity information helps you determine the following:
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Whether the request was made with root or Amazon Identity and Access Management (IAM) user credentials.
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Whether the request was made with temporary security credentials for a role or federated user.
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Whether the request was made by another Amazon service.
For more information, see the CloudTrail userIdentity Element.
For an ongoing record of events in your Amazon account, including events for CloudWatch and CloudWatch Synthetics, create a trail. A trail enables CloudTrail to deliver log files to an S3 bucket. By default, when you create a trail in the console, the trail applies to all Amazon Regions. The trail logs events from all Regions in the Amazon partition and delivers the log files to the S3 bucket that you specify. You can configure other Amazon services to further analyze and act on the event data collected in CloudTrail logs. For more information, see the following:
Topics
CloudWatch information in CloudTrail
CloudWatch supports logging the following actions as events in CloudTrail log files:
Example: CloudWatch log file entries
The following example shows a CloudTrail log entry that demonstrates the PutMetricAlarm action.
{ "Records": [{ "eventVersion": "1.01", "userIdentity": { "type": "Root", "principalId": "EX_PRINCIPAL_ID", "arn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:root", "accountId": "123456789012", "accessKeyId": "EXAMPLE_KEY_ID" }, "eventTime": "2014-03-23T21:50:34Z", "eventSource": "monitoring.amazonaws.com", "eventName": "PutMetricAlarm", "awsRegion": "us-east-1", "sourceIPAddress": "127.0.0.1", "userAgent": "aws-sdk-ruby2/2.0.0.rc4 ruby/1.9.3 x86_64-linux Seahorse/0.1.0", "requestParameters": { "threshold": 50.0, "period": 60, "metricName": "CloudTrail Test", "evaluationPeriods": 3, "comparisonOperator": "GreaterThanThreshold", "namespace": "AWS/CloudWatch", "alarmName": "CloudTrail Test Alarm", "statistic": "Sum" }, "responseElements": null, "requestID": "29184022-b2d5-11e3-a63d-9b463e6d0ff0", "eventID": "b096d5b7-dcf2-4399-998b-5a53eca76a27" }, ..additional entries ] }
The following log file entry shows that a user called the CloudWatch Events
PutRule action.
{ "eventVersion":"1.03", "userIdentity":{ "type":"Root", "principalId":"123456789012", "arn":"arn:aws:iam::123456789012:root", "accountId":"123456789012", "accessKeyId":"AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE", "sessionContext":{ "attributes":{ "mfaAuthenticated":"false", "creationDate":"2015-11-17T23:56:15Z" } } }, "eventTime":"2015-11-18T00:11:28Z", "eventSource":"events.amazonaws.com", "eventName":"PutRule", "awsRegion":"us-east-1", "sourceIPAddress":"AWS Internal", "userAgent":"AWS CloudWatch Console", "requestParameters":{ "description":"", "name":"cttest2", "state":"ENABLED", "eventPattern":"{\"source\":[\"aws.ec2\"],\"detail-type\":[\"EC2 Instance State-change Notification\"]}", "scheduleExpression":"" }, "responseElements":{ "ruleArn":"arn:aws:events:us-east-1:123456789012:rule/cttest2" }, "requestID":"e9caf887-8d88-11e5-a331-3332aa445952", "eventID":"49d14f36-6450-44a5-a501-b0fdcdfaeb98", "eventType":"AwsApiCall", "apiVersion":"2015-10-07", "recipientAccountId":"123456789012" }
The following log file entry shows that a user called the CloudWatch Logs
CreateExportTask action.
{ "eventVersion": "1.03", "userIdentity": { "type": "IAMUser", "principalId": "EX_PRINCIPAL_ID", "arn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:user/someuser", "accountId": "123456789012", "accessKeyId": "AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE", "userName": "someuser" }, "eventTime": "2016-02-08T06:35:14Z", "eventSource": "logs.amazonaws.com", "eventName": "CreateExportTask", "awsRegion": "us-east-1", "sourceIPAddress": "127.0.0.1", "userAgent": "aws-sdk-ruby2/2.0.0.rc4 ruby/1.9.3 x86_64-linux Seahorse/0.1.0", "requestParameters": { "destination": "yourdestination", "logGroupName": "yourloggroup", "to": 123456789012, "from": 0, "taskName": "yourtask" }, "responseElements": { "taskId": "15e5e534-9548-44ab-a221-64d9d2b27b9b" }, "requestID": "1cd74c1c-ce2e-12e6-99a9-8dbb26bd06c9", "eventID": "fd072859-bd7c-4865-9e76-8e364e89307c", "eventType": "AwsApiCall", "apiVersion": "20140328", "recipientAccountId": "123456789012" }
CloudWatch Internet Monitor in CloudTrail
CloudWatch Internet Monitor supports logging the following actions as events in CloudTrail log files: (Links to API Reference Guide to be added at release)
Example: CloudWatch Internet Monitor log file entries
The following example shows a CloudTrail Internet Monitor log entry that demonstrates the
ListMonitors action.
{ "eventVersion": "1.08", "userIdentity": { "type": "AssumedRole", "principalId": "EX_PRINCIPAL_ID", "arn": "arn:aws:iam::000000000000:assumed-role/role_name", "accountId":"123456789012", "accessKeyId":"AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE", "sessionContext": { "sessionIssuer": { "type": "Role", "principalId": "EX_PRINCIPAL_ID", "arn": "arn:aws:iam::000000000000:role/Admin", "accountId":"123456789012", "userName": "SAMPLE_NAME" }, "webIdFederationData": {}, "attributes": { "creationDate": "2022-10-11T17:25:41Z", "mfaAuthenticated": "false" } } }, "eventTime": "2022-10-11T17:30:18Z", "eventSource": "internetmonitor.amazonaws.com", "eventName": "ListMonitors", "awsRegion": "us-east-2", "sourceIPAddress": "192.0.2.0", "userAgent": "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7)", "requestParameters": null, "responseElements": null, "requestID": "a1b2c3d4-5678-90ab-cdef-EXAMPLE11111", "eventID": "a1b2c3d4-5678-90ab-cdef-EXAMPLEbbbbb", "readOnly": true, "eventType": "AwsApiCall", "managementEvent": true, "recipientAccountId": "111122223333", "eventCategory": "Management" }
The following example shows a CloudTrail Internet Monitor log entry that demonstrates the
CreateMonitor action.
{ "eventVersion": "1.08", "userIdentity": { "type": "AssumedRole", "principalId": "EX_PRINCIPAL_ID", "arn": "arn:aws:iam::000000000000:assumed-role/role_name", "accountId":"123456789012", "accessKeyId":"AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE", "sessionContext": { "sessionIssuer": { "type": "Role", "principalId": "EX_PRINCIPAL_ID", "arn": "arn:aws:iam::000000000000:role/Admin", "accountId":"123456789012", "userName": "SAMPLE_NAME" }, "webIdFederationData": {}, "attributes": { "creationDate": "2022-10-11T17:25:41Z", "mfaAuthenticated": "false" } } }, "eventTime": "2022-10-11T17:30:08Z", "eventSource": "internetmonitor.amazonaws.com", "eventName": "CreateMonitor", "awsRegion": "us-east-2", "sourceIPAddress": "192.0.2.0", "userAgent": "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7)", "requestParameters": { "MonitorName": "TestMonitor", "Resources": ["arn:aws:ec2:us-east-2:444455556666:vpc/vpc-febc0b95"], "ClientToken": "a1b2c3d4-5678-90ab-cdef-EXAMPLE33333" }, "responseElements": { "Arn": "arn:aws:internetmonitor:us-east-2:444455556666:monitor/ct-onboarding-test", "Status": "PENDING" }, "requestID": "a1b2c3d4-5678-90ab-cdef-EXAMPLE11111", "eventID": "a1b2c3d4-5678-90ab-cdef-EXAMPLEbbbbb", "readOnly": false, "eventType": "AwsApiCall", "managementEvent": true, "recipientAccountId": "111122223333", "eventCategory": "Management" }
CloudWatch Synthetics information in CloudTrail
CloudWatch Synthetics supports logging the following actions as events in CloudTrail log files:
Example: CloudWatch Synthetics log file entries
The following example shows a CloudTrail Synthetics log entry that demonstrates the
DescribeCanaries action.
{ "eventVersion": "1.05", "userIdentity": { "type": "AssumedRole", "principalId": "EX_PRINCIPAL_ID", "arn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:assumed-role/role_name", "accountId":"123456789012", "accessKeyId":"AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE", "sessionContext": { "sessionIssuer": { "type": "Role", "principalId": "EX_PRINCIPAL_ID", "arn": "arn:aws:iam::111222333444:role/Administrator", "accountId":"123456789012", "userName": "SAMPLE_NAME" }, "webIdFederationData": {}, "attributes": { "mfaAuthenticated": "false", "creationDate": "2020-04-08T21:43:24Z" } } }, "eventTime": "2020-04-08T23:06:47Z", "eventSource": "synthetics.amazonaws.com", "eventName": "DescribeCanaries", "awsRegion": "us-east-1", "sourceIPAddress": "127.0.0.1", "userAgent": "aws-internal/3 aws-sdk-java/1.11.590 Linux/4.9.184-0.1.ac.235.83.329.metal1.x86_64 OpenJDK_64-Bit_Server_VM/25.212-b03 java/1.8.0_212 vendor/Oracle_Corporation", "requestParameters": null, "responseElements": null, "requestID": "201ed5f3-15db-4f87-94a4-123456789", "eventID": "73ddbd81-3dd0-4ada-b246-123456789", "readOnly": true, "eventType": "AwsApiCall", "recipientAccountId": "111122223333" }
The following example shows a CloudTrail Synthetics log entry that demonstrates the
UpdateCanary action.
{ "eventVersion": "1.05", "userIdentity": { "type": "AssumedRole", "principalId": "EX_PRINCIPAL_ID", "arn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:assumed-role/role_name", "accountId":"123456789012", "accessKeyId":"AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE", "sessionContext": { "sessionIssuer": { "type": "Role", "principalId": "EX_PRINCIPAL_ID", "arn": "arn:aws:iam::111222333444:role/Administrator", "accountId":"123456789012", "userName": "SAMPLE_NAME" }, "webIdFederationData": {}, "attributes": { "mfaAuthenticated": "false", "creationDate": "2020-04-08T21:43:24Z" } } }, "eventTime": "2020-04-08T23:06:47Z", "eventSource": "synthetics.amazonaws.com", "eventName": "UpdateCanary", "awsRegion": "us-east-1", "sourceIPAddress": "192.0.2.0", "userAgent": "aws-internal/3 aws-sdk-java/1.11.590 Linux/4.9.184-0.1.ac.235.83.329.metal1.x86_64 OpenJDK_64-Bit_Server_VM/25.212-b03 java/1.8.0_212 vendor/Oracle_Corporation", "requestParameters": { "Schedule": { "Expression": "rate(1 minute)" }, "name": "sample_canary_name", "Code": { "Handler": "myOwnScript.handler", "ZipFile": "SAMPLE_ZIP_FILE" } }, "responseElements": null, "requestID": "fe4759b0-0849-4e0e-be71-1234567890", "eventID": "9dc60c83-c3c8-4fa5-bd02-1234567890", "readOnly": false, "eventType": "AwsApiCall", "recipientAccountId": "111122223333" }
The following example shows a CloudTrail Synthetics log entry that demonstrates the
GetCanaryRuns action.
{ "eventVersion": "1.05", "userIdentity": { "type": "AssumedRole", "principalId": "EX_PRINCIPAL_ID", "arn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:assumed-role/role_name", "accountId":"123456789012", "accessKeyId":"AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE", "sessionContext": { "sessionIssuer": { "type": "Role", "principalId": "EX_PRINCIPAL_ID", "arn": "arn:aws:iam::111222333444:role/Administrator", "accountId":"123456789012", "userName": "SAMPLE_NAME" }, "webIdFederationData": {}, "attributes": { "mfaAuthenticated": "false", "creationDate": "2020-04-08T21:43:24Z" } } }, "eventTime": "2020-04-08T23:06:30Z", "eventSource": "synthetics.amazonaws.com", "eventName": "GetCanaryRuns", "awsRegion": "us-east-1", "sourceIPAddress": "127.0.0.1", "userAgent": "aws-internal/3 aws-sdk-java/1.11.590 Linux/4.9.184-0.1.ac.235.83.329.metal1.x86_64 OpenJDK_64-Bit_Server_VM/25.212-b03 java/1.8.0_212 vendor/Oracle_Corporation", "requestParameters": { "Filter": "TIME_RANGE", "name": "sample_canary_name", "FilterValues": [ "2020-04-08T23:00:00.000Z", "2020-04-08T23:10:00.000Z" ] }, "responseElements": null, "requestID": "2f56318c-cfbd-4b60-9d93-1234567890", "eventID": "52723fd9-4a54-478c-ac55-1234567890", "readOnly": true, "eventType": "AwsApiCall", "recipientAccountId": "111122223333" }