Identify the workload identity
An IAM role defines permissions and a trust relationship that controls who or what may assume it. AWS services can provide temporary role credentials to supported workloads. The exact mechanism depends on the runtime; an EC2 instance, an ECS task and an external deployment pipeline do not all obtain credentials in the same way.
Inventory which application actions and resources are required. Keep deployment permissions separate from the runtime permissions needed to serve requests. Avoid placing long-lived access keys in source code, images or logs.
Scope permission and trust
Review both the role's permission policies and its trust policy. A narrowly scoped permission policy is not enough if an unintended principal can assume the role. Where supported, restrict resources and conditions, and use an appropriate workload identity mechanism for the environment.
Test the required operations using the application's real identity. Check both successful and intentionally unauthorized actions. Use IAM Access Analyzer and relevant audit logs as inputs to review, understanding their coverage and limitations.
Operate the credential lifecycle
Temporary credentials still need safe handling. Ensure the SDK or application refreshes them correctly, and investigate unexpected credential-provider selection. For workloads that cannot use a role directly, follow the provider's documented alternatives and protect any long-lived credentials.
Review roles and unused permissions periodically. Record ownership and a rollback path before changing access to a production workload.
Further reading
Read the official documentation. For help applying these checks, explore Clouvenix services.