Summary

The article discusses a common AWS CloudFormation error related to the incorrect formatting of conditions within the template, specifically highlighting an issue with a condition that includes a boolean operation with a dash.

Abstract

The author, Teri Radichel, shares an experience encountering an AWS CloudFormation error due to an improperly formatted condition in the template. The error message received was not entirely clear, suggesting the condition was not in the right format. Radichel suggests that a more specific error message indicating the presence of an unwanted dash in the !Equals boolean operation would have been more helpful. The article includes a corrected version of the code and encourages readers to follow for updates, sign up for a Medium email list, and engage with Radichel's content on various platforms for more insights into cybersecurity, cloud, and application security.

Opinions

The author finds the AWS CloudFormation error message to be somewhat cryptic and suggests that a more explicit message would be beneficial for troubleshooting.
Radichel implies that the inclusion of a dash in the !Equals operation is a common pitfall that could be better highlighted in the error messaging.
The article conveys a preference for clear and actionable error messages to facilitate quicker resolution of issues.
The author emphasizes the importance of learning from such errors and encourages continuous learning in the field of cybersecurity.
Radichel promotes her work and expertise in the field, offering resources such as books, presentations, and consulting services through 2nd Sight Lab.

Conditions can only be boolean operations on parameters and other conditions

Incorrectly formatted AWS CloudFormation Condition

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

⚙️ Check out my series on Automating Cybersecurity Metrics | Code.

🔒 Related Stories: Bugs | AWS Security | Secure Code | CloudFormation

💻 Free Content on Jobs in Cybersecurity | ✉️ Sign up for the Email List

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I got the following error:

An error occurred (ValidationError) when calling the CreateChangeSet operation: Template format error: Conditions can only be boolean operations on parameters and other conditions

Trying to run this code:

The error message is a bit nonsensical to me. It would make more sense if fit said, “Your condition is not in the right format.”

But it would be more helpful if it said:

“!Equals should not have a dash (-) in front of it.”

Working code:

Follow for updates.

About Teri Radichel:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
⭐️ Author: Cybersecurity Books
⭐️ Presentations: Presentations by Teri Radichel
⭐️ Recognition: SANS Award, AWS Security Hero, IANS Faculty
⭐️ Certifications: SANS ~ GSE 240
⭐️ Education: BA Business, Master of Software Engineering, Master of Infosec
⭐️ Company: Penetration Tests, Assessments, Phone Consulting ~ 2nd Sight Lab

Need Help With Cybersecurity, Cloud, or Application Security?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
🔒 Request a penetration test or security assessment
🔒 Schedule a consulting call
🔒 Cybersecurity Speaker for Presentation

Follow for more stories like this:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
❤️ Sign Up my Medium Email List
❤️ Twitter: @teriradichel
❤️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teriradichel
❤️ Mastodon: @teriradichel@infosec.exchange
❤️ Facebook: 2nd Sight Lab
❤️ YouTube: @2ndsightlab