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AWS SECURITY

Build AWS S3 Security Scanner with Python and Cursor AI

Detect S3 misconfigurations with Python boto3, then fix vulnerabilities through AI conversation

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Build AWS S3 Security Scanner with Python and Cursor AI project preview
Python
Cursor

Difficulty

Intermediate

Time to complete

90 minutes

Availability

Free

BUILD

What you'll build

Build a production-grade S3 security scanner using Python and boto3, then use Cursor with AWS MCP to fix vulnerabilities automatically. Prevent breaches like Capital One.

1. Set Up Security Automation Environment

Install Python, AWS CLI, boto3, and configure your AWS credentials for programmatic access.

2. Build AWS S3 Security Scanner

Write a Python scanner using boto3 to detect public access misconfigurations across all S3 buckets.

3. Connect Cursor to AWS with MCP

Configure AWS MCP in Cursor to bridge AI with your AWS account for automated remediation.

4. Test Scanner with AI-Created Issues

Use Cursor to create a deliberately insecure bucket, then run your scanner to detect it.

5. Automate Security Fixes with AI

Use Cursor with AWS MCP to automatically remediate critical findings through natural language commands.

Your portfolio builds as you work.

Every project documents itself as you go. Finish the work, and your proof is ready to share.

PROJECT

Real world application

Skills you'll learn

  • Cloud Security Automation

    Build automated scanning systems that detect AWS misconfigurations before they become breaches

  • Python AWS SDK

    Use boto3 to programmatically interact with AWS services and resources

  • AI-Assisted Remediation

    Fix security issues through AI conversation using Cursor with AWS MCP integration

  • AWS CLI Configuration

    Set up programmatic access and manage AWS credentials securely

  • Security Compliance

    Implement S3 public access blocks following AWS security best practices

  • DevSecOps Workflows

    Integrate automated security scanning into your development and deployment processes

Tech stack

  • Python logo

    Python

    Write security scanners using boto3 (AWS SDK) to detect S3 misconfigurations programmatically.

  • Cursor logo

    Cursor

    Use AI to automatically generate and execute boto3 fix code through AWS MCP server integration.

This project taught me how enterprise security teams actually automate compliance. The AI-powered remediation workflow is exactly what I needed to understand modern DevSecOps.

Marcus Chen

Building automated compliance systems

OUTCOME

Where this leads.

Relevant Jobs

Roles where these skills matter:

  • Cloud Security Engineer
  • DevSecOps Engineer
  • AWS Solutions Architect
  • Site Reliability Engineer

AI Security

Take your AWS security skills further. Learn to audit IAM policies, detect privilege escalation risks, and automate comprehensive security assessments.

AI Security

Continue the Journey

FAQs

Everything you need to know

Yes, you need an AWS account to run this project. The AWS free tier provides more than enough resources to create S3 buckets and run the security scanner at no cost. If you don't have an AWS account yet, complete the Set Up An AWS Account for Free project on NextWork first. No credit card is required for free tier access.

AWS MCP enables AI-powered remediation through natural language conversation. Instead of manually writing boto3 commands for each security fix, you tell Cursor 'fix all critical S3 buckets' and it generates and executes the boto3 code automatically. This mirrors how enterprise security teams use AI-assisted workflows to remediate vulnerabilities faster.

No prior AWS security experience is required for this project. You'll learn AWS security fundamentals from scratch, including what S3 public access blocks are, why misconfigured buckets cause data breaches, and how to detect and fix vulnerabilities automatically. By the end, you'll understand the same security concepts that enterprise teams use.

Yes, the scanner is production-ready and safe to run on any AWS environment. It only reads S3 bucket configurations using boto3's get_public_access_block API without making any changes. However, test the AI-powered remediation workflow on non-production buckets first before applying fixes to critical infrastructure.

The scanner detects S3 public access misconfigurations by checking all four public access block settings: BlockPublicAcls, BlockPublicPolicy, IgnorePublicAcls, and RestrictPublicBuckets. Missing or disabled settings are flagged as CRITICAL vulnerabilities. These are the same misconfigurations that caused the 2019 Capital One breach, which exposed 100 million customer records.

This project teaches you to build a security scanner from scratch, while GuardDuty and Security Hub are AWS's managed security services that abstract away the implementation. By building your own scanner with Python and boto3, you'll understand exactly how enterprise security tools work under the hood and use the same AWS APIs.

One Project. Real Skills.

90 minutes from now, you'll have completed Build AWS S3 Security Scanner with Python and Cursor AI. No prior experience needed. Just step-by-step guidance and a real project for your portfolio.

Let's Build This

Intermediate level