CloudTrail Trails
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Deploys CloudTrail trails for S3 data events with KMS-encrypted log delivery to an existing audit bucket. Optionally includes management events. Use this module when you need to track who accessed or modified objects in your S3 buckets for security auditing and compliance requirements.
Deployed Resources
This module deploys and integrates the following resources:
CloudTrail Audit Trail - CloudTrail containing S3 Data Events configured to write to an audit bucket.

Related Modules
- Audit — Deploy the audit S3 bucket and KMS key that this trail writes to
- Data Lake — Enable S3 data event logging for data lake bucket access auditing
- Lake Formation Settings — Configure Lake Formation admin roles whose actions are captured by CloudTrail
Security/Compliance Details
This module is designed in alignment with MDAA security/compliance principles and CDK nag rulesets. Additional review is recommended prior to production deployment, ensuring organization-specific compliance requirements are met.
- Encryption at Rest:
- Trail logs encrypted with existing audit KMS key referenced via SSM parameter
Configuration
MDAA Config
Add the following snippet to your mdaa.yaml under the modules: section of a domain/env in order to use this module:
audit-trail: # Module Name can be customized
module_path: '@aws-mdaa/audit-trail' # Must match module NPM package name
module_configs:
- ./audit-trail.yaml # Filename/path can be customized
Module Config Samples and Variants
Copy the contents of the relevant sample config below into the ./audit-trail.yaml file referenced in the MDAA config snippet above.
Minimal Configuration
Required properties only — a CloudTrail trail with audit bucket and KMS key references. Start here for a basic S3 data event trail writing to an existing audit bucket.
# Contents available via above link
# Minimal Audit Trail module configuration.
# Contains only required properties for a CloudTrail trail.
trail:
# S3 bucket name where CloudTrail audit logs are stored
cloudTrailAuditBucketName: ssm:/sample-org/shared/audit/bucket/name
# KMS key ARN for encrypting CloudTrail logs written to S3
cloudTrailAuditKmsKeyArn: ssm:/sample-org/shared/audit/kms/cmk/arn
Comprehensive Configuration
Deploys a CloudTrail trail with S3 audit bucket, KMS encryption, and management event logging for compliance monitoring. Start here when evaluating all available options for event selectors, management events, and multi-bucket data event coverage.
sample-config-comprehensive.yaml
# Contents available via above link
# Comprehensive sample config for the Audit Trail module.
# Covers EVERY non-excluded property from config-schema.json at full depth.
# Deploys a CloudTrail trail with S3 audit bucket, KMS encryption,
# and management event logging for compliance monitoring.
# CloudTrail audit trail configuration for S3 data event logging
# with KMS encryption. (AuditTrailProps)
trail:
# (Required) S3 bucket name where CloudTrail audit logs are stored.
# Accepts bucket names or SSM parameter references.
cloudTrailAuditBucketName: ssm:/sample-org/shared/audit/bucket/name
# (Required) KMS key ARN for encrypting CloudTrail logs written to S3.
# Accepts key ARNs or SSM parameter references.
# Direct ARN example: arn:{{partition}}:kms:{{region}}:{{account}}:key/audit-key-id
cloudTrailAuditKmsKeyArn: ssm:/sample-org/shared/audit/kms/cmk/arn
# (Optional, boolean) If true, management/control plane events will be
# included in trail. Otherwise, only S3 Data Events will be included.
includeManagementEvents: true