AWS Organizations Bulk Provisioning in Prowler

Prowler offers an automated tool to discover and provision all AWS accounts within an AWS Organization. This streamlines onboarding for organizations managing multiple AWS accounts by automatically generating the configuration needed for bulk provisioning. The tool, aws_org_generator.py‎, complements the Bulk Provider Provisioning tool and is available in the Prowler repository at: util/prowler-bulk-provisioning

Native support for bulk provisioning AWS Organizations and similar multi-account structures directly in the Prowler UI/API is on the official roadmap.Track progress and vote for this feature at: Bulk Provisioning in the UI/API for AWS Organizations

Overview

The AWS Organizations Bulk Provisioning tool simplifies multi-account onboarding by:

Automatically discovering all active accounts in an AWS Organization
Generating YAML configuration files for bulk provisioning
Supporting account filtering and custom role configurations
Eliminating manual entry of account IDs and role ARNs

Prerequisites

Requirements

Python 3.7 or higher
AWS credentials with Organizations read access
ProwlerRole (or custom role) deployed across all target accounts
Prowler API key (from Prowler Cloud or self-hosted Prowler App)
- For self-hosted Prowler App, remember to point to your API base URL
- Learn how to create API keys: Prowler App API Keys

Deploying ProwlerRole Across AWS Organizations

Before using the AWS Organizations generator, deploy the ProwlerRole across all accounts in the organization using CloudFormation StackSets.

Follow the official documentation: Deploying Prowler IAM Roles Across AWS OrganizationsKey points:

Use CloudFormation StackSets from the management account
Deploy to all organizational units (OUs) or specific OUs
Use an external ID for enhanced security
Ensure the role has necessary permissions for Prowler scans

Installation

Clone the repository and install required dependencies:

git clone https://github.com/prowler-cloud/prowler.git
cd prowler/util/prowler-bulk-provisioning
pip install -r requirements-aws-org.txt

AWS Credentials Setup

Configure AWS credentials with Organizations read access:

Management account credentials, or
Delegated administrator account with organizations:ListAccounts permission

Required IAM permissions:

{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": [
        "organizations:ListAccounts",
        "organizations:DescribeOrganization"
      ],
      "Resource": "*"
    }
  ]
}

Prowler API Key Setup

Configure your Prowler API key:

export PROWLER_API_KEY="pk_example-api-key"

To create an API key:

Log in to Prowler Cloud or Prowler App
Click Profile → Account
Click Create API Key
Provide a descriptive name and optionally set an expiration date
Copy the generated API key (it will only be shown once)

For detailed instructions, see: Prowler App API Keys

Basic Usage

Generate Configuration for All Accounts

To generate a YAML configuration file for all active accounts in the organization:

python aws_org_generator.py -o aws-accounts.yaml --external-id prowler-ext-id-2024

This command:

Lists all ACTIVE accounts in the organization
Generates YAML entries for each account
Saves the configuration to aws-accounts.yaml

Output:

Fetching accounts from AWS Organizations...
Found 47 active accounts in organization
Generated configuration for 47 accounts

Configuration written to: aws-accounts.yaml

Next steps:
  1. Review the generated file: cat aws-accounts.yaml | head -n 20
  2. Run bulk provisioning: python prowler_bulk_provisioning.py aws-accounts.yaml

Review Generated Configuration

Review the generated YAML configuration:

head -n 20 aws-accounts.yaml

Example output:

- provider: aws
  uid: '111111111111'
  alias: Production-Account
  auth_method: role
  credentials:
    role_arn: arn:aws:iam::111111111111:role/ProwlerRole
    external_id: prowler-ext-id-2024

- provider: aws
  uid: '222222222222'
  alias: Development-Account
  auth_method: role
  credentials:
    role_arn: arn:aws:iam::222222222222:role/ProwlerRole
    external_id: prowler-ext-id-2024

Dry Run Mode

Test the configuration without writing a file:

python aws_org_generator.py \
  --external-id prowler-ext-id-2024 \
  --dry-run

Advanced Configuration

Using a Specific AWS Profile

Specify an AWS profile when multiple profiles are configured:

python aws_org_generator.py \
  -o aws-accounts.yaml \
  --profile org-management-admin \
  --external-id prowler-ext-id-2024

Excluding Specific Accounts

Exclude the management account or other accounts from provisioning:

python aws_org_generator.py \
  -o aws-accounts.yaml \
  --external-id prowler-ext-id-2024 \
  --exclude 123456789012,210987654321

Common exclusion scenarios:

Management account (requires different permissions)
Break-glass accounts (emergency access)
Suspended or archived accounts

Including Only Specific Accounts

Generate configuration for specific accounts only:

python aws_org_generator.py \
  -o aws-accounts.yaml \
  --external-id prowler-ext-id-2024 \
  --include 111111111111,222222222222,333333333333

Custom Role Name

Specify a custom role name if not using the default ProwlerRole:

python aws_org_generator.py \
  -o aws-accounts.yaml \
  --role-name ProwlerExecutionRole \
  --external-id prowler-ext-id-2024

Custom Alias Format

Customize account aliases using template variables:

# Use account name and ID
python aws_org_generator.py \
  -o aws-accounts.yaml \
  --alias-format "{name}-{id}" \
  --external-id prowler-ext-id-2024

# Use email prefix
python aws_org_generator.py \
  -o aws-accounts.yaml \
  --alias-format "{email}" \
  --external-id prowler-ext-id-2024

Available template variables:

{name} - Account name
{id} - Account ID
{email} - Account email

Additional Role Assumption Options

Configure optional role assumption parameters:

python aws_org_generator.py \
  -o aws-accounts.yaml \
  --role-name ProwlerRole \
  --external-id prowler-ext-id-2024 \
  --session-name prowler-scan-session \
  --duration-seconds 3600

Complete Workflow Example

Deploy ProwlerRole Using StackSets

Log in to the AWS management account
Open CloudFormation → StackSets
Create a new StackSet using the Prowler role template
Deploy to all organizational units
Use a unique external ID (e.g., prowler-org-2024-abc123)

Generate YAML Configuration

Configure AWS credentials and generate the YAML file:

# Using management account credentials
export AWS_PROFILE=org-management

# Generate configuration
python aws_org_generator.py \
  -o aws-org-accounts.yaml \
  --external-id prowler-org-2024-abc123 \
  --exclude 123456789012

Output:

Fetching accounts from AWS Organizations...
Using AWS profile: org-management
Found 47 active accounts in organization
Generated configuration for 46 accounts

Configuration written to: aws-org-accounts.yaml

Next steps:
  1. Review the generated file: cat aws-org-accounts.yaml | head -n 20
  2. Run bulk provisioning: python prowler_bulk_provisioning.py aws-org-accounts.yaml

Review Generated Configuration

Verify the generated YAML configuration:

# View first 20 lines
head -n 20 aws-org-accounts.yaml

# Check for unexpected accounts
grep "uid:" aws-org-accounts.yaml

# Verify role ARNs
grep "role_arn:" aws-org-accounts.yaml | head -5

# Count accounts
grep "provider: aws" aws-org-accounts.yaml | wc -l

Run Bulk Provisioning

Provision all accounts to Prowler Cloud or Prowler App:

# Set Prowler API key
export PROWLER_API_KEY="pk_example-api-key"

# Run bulk provisioning with connection testing
python prowler_bulk_provisioning.py aws-org-accounts.yaml

With custom options:

python prowler_bulk_provisioning.py aws-org-accounts.yaml \
  --concurrency 10 \
  --timeout 120

Successful output:

[1] ✅ Created provider (id=db9a8985-f9ec-4dd8-b5a0-e05ab3880bed)
[1] ✅ Created secret (id=466f76c6-5878-4602-a4bc-13f9522c1fd2)
[1] ✅ Connection test: Connected

[2] ✅ Created provider (id=7a99f789-0cf5-4329-8279-2d443a962676)
[2] ✅ Created secret (id=c5702180-f7c4-40fd-be0e-f6433479b126)
[2] ✅ Connection test: Connected

Done. Success: 47  Failures: 0

Command Reference

Full Command-Line Options

python aws_org_generator.py \
  -o OUTPUT_FILE \
  --role-name ROLE_NAME \
  --external-id EXTERNAL_ID \
  --session-name SESSION_NAME \
  --duration-seconds SECONDS \
  --alias-format FORMAT \
  --exclude ACCOUNT_IDS \
  --include ACCOUNT_IDS \
  --profile AWS_PROFILE \
  --region AWS_REGION \
  --dry-run

Troubleshooting

Error: “No AWS credentials found”

Solution: Configure AWS credentials using one of these methods:

# Method 1: AWS CLI configure
aws configure

# Method 2: Environment variables
export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your-key-id
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your-secret-key

# Method 3: Use AWS profile
export AWS_PROFILE=org-management

Error: “Access denied to AWS Organizations API”

Cause: Current credentials don’t have permission to list organization accounts. Solution:

Ensure management account credentials are used
Verify IAM permissions include organizations:ListAccounts
Check IAM policies for Organizations access

Error: “AWS Organizations is not enabled”

Cause: The account is not part of an organization. Solution: This tool requires an AWS Organization. Create one in the AWS Organizations console or use standard bulk provisioning for standalone accounts.

No Accounts Generated After Filters

Cause: All accounts were filtered out by --exclude or --include options. Solution: Review filter options and verify account IDs are correct:

# List all accounts in organization
aws organizations list-accounts --query "Accounts[?Status=='ACTIVE'].[Id,Name]" --output table

Connection Test Failures During Bulk Provisioning

Cause: ProwlerRole may not be deployed correctly or credentials are invalid. Solution:

Verify StackSet deployment status in CloudFormation
Check role trust policy includes correct external ID
Test role assumption manually:

aws sts assume-role \
  --role-arn arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/ProwlerRole \
  --role-session-name test \
  --external-id prowler-ext-id-2024

Security Best Practices

Use External ID

Always use an external ID when assuming cross-account roles:

python aws_org_generator.py \
  -o aws-accounts.yaml \
  --external-id $(uuidgen | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')

The external ID must match the one configured in the ProwlerRole trust policy across all accounts.

Exclude Sensitive Accounts

Exclude accounts that shouldn’t be scanned or require special handling:

python aws_org_generator.py \
  -o aws-accounts.yaml \
  --external-id prowler-ext-id \
  --exclude 123456789012,111111111111  # management, break-glass accounts

Review Generated Configuration

Always review the generated YAML before provisioning:

# Check for unexpected accounts
grep "uid:" aws-org-accounts.yaml

# Verify role ARNs
grep "role_arn:" aws-org-accounts.yaml | head -5

# Count accounts
grep "provider: aws" aws-org-accounts.yaml | wc -l

Prowler Cloud/App

CLI

Providers

Compliance

AWS Organizations Bulk Provisioning in Prowler

Overview

Prerequisites

Requirements

Deploying ProwlerRole Across AWS Organizations

Installation

AWS Credentials Setup

Prowler API Key Setup

Basic Usage

Generate Configuration for All Accounts

Review Generated Configuration

Dry Run Mode

Advanced Configuration

Using a Specific AWS Profile

Excluding Specific Accounts

Including Only Specific Accounts

Custom Role Name

Custom Alias Format

Additional Role Assumption Options

Complete Workflow Example

Command Reference

Full Command-Line Options

Troubleshooting

Error: “No AWS credentials found”

Error: “Access denied to AWS Organizations API”

Error: “AWS Organizations is not enabled”

No Accounts Generated After Filters

Connection Test Failures During Bulk Provisioning

Security Best Practices

Use External ID

Exclude Sensitive Accounts

Review Generated Configuration

Next Steps

Bulk Provider Provisioning

Prowler App

Prowler Cloud/App

CLI

Providers

Compliance

​Overview

​Prerequisites

​Requirements

​Deploying ProwlerRole Across AWS Organizations

​Installation

​AWS Credentials Setup

​Prowler API Key Setup

​Basic Usage

​Generate Configuration for All Accounts

​Review Generated Configuration

​Dry Run Mode

​Advanced Configuration

​Using a Specific AWS Profile

​Excluding Specific Accounts

​Including Only Specific Accounts

​Custom Role Name

​Custom Alias Format

​Additional Role Assumption Options

​Complete Workflow Example

​Command Reference

​Full Command-Line Options

​Troubleshooting

​Error: “No AWS credentials found”

​Error: “Access denied to AWS Organizations API”

​Error: “AWS Organizations is not enabled”

​No Accounts Generated After Filters

​Connection Test Failures During Bulk Provisioning

​Security Best Practices

​Use External ID

​Exclude Sensitive Accounts

​Review Generated Configuration

​Next Steps

Bulk Provider Provisioning

Prowler App

Overview

Prerequisites

Requirements

Deploying ProwlerRole Across AWS Organizations

Installation

AWS Credentials Setup

Prowler API Key Setup

Basic Usage

Generate Configuration for All Accounts

Review Generated Configuration

Dry Run Mode

Advanced Configuration

Using a Specific AWS Profile

Excluding Specific Accounts

Including Only Specific Accounts

Custom Role Name

Custom Alias Format

Additional Role Assumption Options

Complete Workflow Example

Command Reference

Full Command-Line Options

Troubleshooting

Error: “No AWS credentials found”

Error: “Access denied to AWS Organizations API”

Error: “AWS Organizations is not enabled”

No Accounts Generated After Filters

Connection Test Failures During Bulk Provisioning

Security Best Practices

Use External ID

Exclude Sensitive Accounts

Review Generated Configuration

Next Steps