AWS CloudFormation vs CFRipper

AWS CloudFormation models, provisions, and manages related AWS and third-party resources as infrastructure as code. YAML or JSON templates define AWS resources and their properties. StackSets deploy a common set of resources across multiple AWS accounts and Regions; Change Sets preview proposed stack updates, including possible deletion or replacement, and Drift Detection tracks changes made outside the service. For authoring, AWS CDK supports TypeScript, Python, Java, and .NET, while AWS SAM offers shorthand YAML for serverless resources that is converted during deployment. The CloudFormation Registry supports third-party resources and modules, and stacks can be updated from remote Git repositories. The service is available through API, Linux, macOS, web, and Windows, and manages state. CloudFormation itself has a free plan, with no additional charge for AWS and Alexa resource providers, but created AWS resources are billed at their standard rates. Third-party provider and custom hook operations may also incur charges. Access can be managed with IAM, and CloudTrail logs API calls.

CFRipper is a free, open-source Python library and command-line security analyzer for AWS CloudFormation templates. It examines template files to help keep vulnerable infrastructure from reaching production. The CLI accepts templates as arguments and can return text or JSON findings, with an option to save results in an output folder. Example findings include wildcard principals and IAM role policies that grant excessive permissions. Rules can be configured with a rules file and filters folder, and users can add plugins for their own compliance checks. Documented exit codes distinguish successful scans, scanning errors, invalid templates, and unhandled exceptions. CFRipper runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, or as self-hosted software. The project uses uv for dependencies, provides installation instructions for those operating systems, and is distributed under the Apache License 2.0. Its analysis scope is CloudFormation; Terraform and Kubernetes are not supported.