Sold by: Center for Internet Security
Deployed on AWS
AWS Free Tier
This product has charges associated with the pre-built hardening to the CIS Benchmarks™ and recurring maintenance. The CIS Hardened Images® are hardened in accordance with the associated CIS Benchmarks, an industry best practice for secure configuration. Reduce cost, time, and risk by building your AWS solution with CIS AMIs.
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Overview
The CIS Hardened Image Level 1 on Amazon Linux 2023 is a pre-configured image built by the Center for Internet Security (CIS®) for use on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2). It is a pre-configured, security-hardened image that aligns with the robust security recommendations, the CIS Benchmarks, making it easier for organizations to meet regulatory requirements.
Not only is this image pre-hardened to the CIS Benchmarks guidance, but it is also patched monthly in alignment with the updates from the software vendor.
Key Benefits
This image is hardened against the corresponding Level 1 profile which is intended to be practical and prudent, provide a clear security benefit, and not inhibit the utility of the technology beyond acceptable means. No packages are installed on or removed from this image outside of those already present on the base image or as recommended in alignment with the corresponding CIS Benchmark recommendations.
To demonstrate conformance to the CIS Amazon Linux 2023 Level 1 Benchmark, industry-recognized hardening guidance, each image includes an HTML report from CIS Configuration Assessment Tool (CIS-CAT® Pro). Each CIS Hardened Image contains the following files:
These reports are located in /home/CIS_Hardened_Reports.
For customized pricing options or private offers, reach out to us at cloudsecurity@cisecurity.org .
To learn more or access the corresponding CIS Benchmark, please visit https://www.cisecurity.org/cis-benchmarks or sign up for a free account on our community platform, CIS WorkBench, https://workbench.cisecurity.org/ .
Highlights
- Hardened according to a Level 1 CIS Benchmark that is developed in a consensus-based process and that is accepted by government, business, industry, and academia.
- Helps with compliance to PCI DSS, FedRAMP, DoD Cloud Computing SRG, FISMA, select NIST publications, and more.
- Pre-configured to align with industry best practices that are developed and supported by CIS, this image has hardened account and local policies, firewall configuration, and computer-based and user-based administrative templates.
Details
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Delivery method
Delivery option
64-bit (x86) Amazon Machine Image (AMI)
Latest version
Operating system
AmazonLinux 2023
Deployed on AWS
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Features and programs
Financing for AWS Marketplace purchases
AWS Marketplace now accepts line of credit payments through the PNC Vendor Finance program. This program is available to select AWS customers in the US, excluding NV, NC, ND, TN, & VT.
Pricing
Pricing is based on actual usage, with charges varying according to how much you consume. Subscriptions have no end date and may be canceled any time. Alternatively, you can pay upfront for a contract, which typically covers your anticipated usage for the contract duration. Any usage beyond contract will incur additional usage-based costs.
Additional AWS infrastructure costs may apply. Use the AWS Pricing Calculator to estimate your infrastructure costs.
If you are an AWS Free Tier customer with a free plan, you are eligible to subscribe to this offer. You can use free credits to cover the cost of eligible AWS infrastructure. See AWS Free Tier for more details. If you created an AWS account before July 15th, 2025, and qualify for the Legacy AWS Free Tier, Amazon EC2 charges for Micro instances are free for up to 750 hours per month. See Legacy AWS Free Tier for more details.
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Dimension | Cost/hour |
|---|---|
t3.medium Recommended | $0.022 |
t2.micro | $0.02 |
t3.micro | $0.022 |
c1.medium | $0.022 |
c1.xlarge | $0.026 |
c3.2xlarge | $0.026 |
c3.4xlarge | $0.035 |
c3.8xlarge | $0.05 |
c3.large | $0.022 |
c3.xlarge | $0.024 |
Dimensions summary
You pay by the hour for this hardened virtual machine image, which is pre-configured to the CIS Benchmarks. Pricing is not tiered by plan. Instead, it scales with the Amazon EC2 instance type you choose to run. Each dimension maps to one EC2 instance size, from small burstable types to large compute, memory, storage, and accelerated instances. You select the instance that fits your workload, and hourly software charges follow that instance's size. Larger instances carry higher hourly rates. Billing continues for each hour the instance runs, alongside separate AWS infrastructure charges.
Top-of-mind questions for buyers
Each unit is one running Amazon EC2 instance using this hardened image, billed per hour. The dimension name matches an EC2 instance type. You are charged software fees for every hour that specific instance runs, regardless of how many CPUs or how much memory it holds.
The software fee meters running time only. A fully stopped instance does not accrue hourly software charges. You still pay separate AWS charges for attached storage and other resources while the instance is stopped. Charges resume once you start the instance again.
Yes. The software rate is tied to the instance type you run. Moving to a type with more compute, memory, or accelerators changes your hourly software charge to that type's rate. There is no separate plan upgrade; the rate follows whichever instance you launch.
www.cisecurity.org
Helpful?
Vendor refund policy
Refunds through AWS are not available at this time. You will only be billed for actual time of instance use. As with all CIS security products, our aim is always 100 percent customer/member satisfaction.
Custom pricing options
Request a private offer to receive a custom quote.
Legal
Vendor terms and conditions
Upon subscribing to this product, you must acknowledge and agree to the terms and conditions outlined in the vendor's End User License Agreement (EULA) .
Content disclaimer
Vendors are responsible for their product descriptions and other product content. AWS does not warrant that vendors' product descriptions or other product content are accurate, complete, reliable, current, or error-free.
Delivery details
64-bit (x86) Amazon Machine Image (AMI)
Amazon Machine Image (AMI)
An AMI is a virtual image that provides the information required to launch an instance. Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) instances are virtual servers on which you can run your applications and workloads, offering varying combinations of CPU, memory, storage, and networking resources. You can launch as many instances from as many different AMIs as you need.
Version release notes
Monthly updates
Additional details
Usage instructions
No sensitive information supplied by customers will be stored outside this instance. No data encryption configuration is applicable to this instance. You can encrypt the instance EBS volume per standard EC2 processes. No programmatic system credentials and cryptographic keys are used by this instance. Launch the instance via the AWS Marketplace or EC2 console. Navigate to your Amazon EC2 console and verify that you're in the correct region. Choose instance and select your launched instance. Select the server to display your metadata page and choose the Status checks tab at the bottom of the page to review if your status checks passed or failed. Connect using SSH. Use ec2-user as the username. Immediately apply latest security updates to the instance.
Support
Vendor support
Questions, feedback, and support accessing CIS-developed AMIs is provided by contacting
AWS infrastructure support
AWS Support is a one-on-one, fast-response support channel that is staffed 24x7x365 with experienced and technical support engineers. The service helps customers of all sizes and technical abilities to successfully utilize the products and features provided by Amazon Web Services.
Updated weekly
By Center for Internet Security
By Canonical Group Limited
By Foundation Security
Top
10
In Compliance and Auditing, Operating Systems, Security
AI generated from product descriptions
Security Hardening Standard Compliance
Image hardened according to CIS Benchmark Level 1 profile developed through consensus-based process and accepted by government, business, industry, and academia.
Regulatory Compliance Support
Supports compliance with PCI DSS, FedRAMP, DoD Cloud Computing SRG, FISMA, and select NIST publications.
Pre-configured Security Controls
Includes hardened account and local policies, firewall configuration, and computer-based and user-based administrative templates aligned with industry best practices.
Automated Compliance Assessment
Includes CIS Configuration Assessment Tool (CIS-CAT Pro) HTML reports demonstrating conformance to CIS Amazon Linux 2023 Level 1 Benchmark with baseline and post-hardening assessment documentation.
Regular Security Updates
Patched monthly in alignment with software vendor updates to maintain alignment with latest security standards.
FIPS 140-2 Certification
FIPS 140-2 certified kernel and cryptographic modules included out of the box with ongoing security updates
Extended Security Coverage
Security patches available for over 23,000 packages in the Ubuntu Universe repository with 10 years of support through Expanded Security Maintenance
Compliance Hardening Profiles
CIS and DISA-STIG hardening profiles accessible through Ubuntu Security Guide tooling for guided compliance configuration
Cryptographic Module Updates
Security updates provided for all packages including FIPS-certified cryptographic modules
Long-term Support
10 years of security coverage and maintenance for the operating system and included packages
Security Controls Implementation
Over 500+ security controls built-in to meet NIST compliance framework requirements
Pre-hardened Configuration
Pre-configured and hardened virtual machine image ready for deployment without additional security implementation
Compliance Framework Alignment
Alignment with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines, standards, and best practices for cybersecurity risk management
Regular Security Updates
Regularly updated image to address latest security threats and maintain compliance with evolving regulations
Standard contract
No
No
Customer reviews
reviewer2917671
Security hardening has reduced vulnerabilities and creates compliant golden images for deployment
Reviewed on Oct 27, 2026
Review from a verified AWS customer
What is our primary use case?
My main use case for CIS Hardened Image Level 1 on Amazon Linux 2023 is to implement OS level hardening and mitigate vulnerabilities.
A specific example of how I use CIS Hardened Image Level 1 on Amazon Linux 2023 for OS hardening or vulnerability mitigation is the creation of a golden image, which requires a CIS hardened image where some of the services need to be blocked, or default ports need to be blocked. Some of the non-essential services which are open and can be exploited can be blocked, and some file-level access disabling needs to be done. I enable all these things using CIS Hardened Image Level 1 on Amazon Linux 2023.
We are using a Packer template where we create an image, a golden image, and then on top of it, we add the additional software required for that golden image. We then run it through a pipeline that integrates hardening steps by pulling hardening controls from a repository and implementing them on that image to create and generate a new image which is security hardened as per CIS Level 1.
How has it helped my organization?
CIS Hardened Image Level 1 on Amazon Linux 2023 has positively impacted my organization by allowing us to conduct vulnerability assessments using security tools, ensuring the images are hardened and do not bypass security vulnerabilities. Only images that meet the security guidelines given by the security team are rolled out into a live environment. We enforce controls at the OS level while having other controls at the network level outside the OS.
The specific outcomes or metrics we have seen from using these hardened images include a reduction in vulnerabilities. Implementing CIS hardening mitigated many of the vulnerabilities showing up as open CVEs in the vulnerability assessment report, leading to a definite reduction in vulnerabilities.
What is most valuable?
The best features CIS Hardened Image Level 1 on Amazon Linux 2023 offers are that it guardrails the image from being exploited, enables Security-Enhanced Linux, disables firewalls and firewall services, and covers many other things, including disabling root-level access.
Out of those features, I find everything essential for hardening an image, particularly SELinux, which is used to have file-level access control so we can regulate who can access a particular file. This allows controlling access within an operating system. Disabling and sometimes enabling firewall services, such as IP tables, can protect certain things.
What needs improvement?
CIS Hardened Image Level 1 on Amazon Linux 2023 can be improved by enforcing more controls at the granular level, and not only at the file level. For example, implementing certain restrictions at the storage level is an area that needs improvement apart from what we enforce at the file level.
Regarding CIS Hardened Image Level 1 on Amazon Linux 2023's AI capabilities, it has good features and a broad coverage in terms of governance and security. However, it should be closely monitored against open vulnerabilities and threats at the OS level, and the CIS hardening controls should be updated periodically to mitigate open vulnerabilities in an on-demand and prompt manner.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using CIS Hardened Image Level 1 on Amazon Linux 2023 for more than 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
CIS Hardened Image Level 1 on Amazon Linux 2023 is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
So far, the scalability of CIS Hardened Image Level 1 on Amazon Linux 2023 is good, and I have not encountered any issues.
How are customer service and support?
I should mention that we do not have any customer support from CIS. The items we purchased are basically given to us by our security team, which we are rolling out in the images.
What was our ROI?
I have not seen a return on investment in terms of money saved, time saved, or fewer employees needed. However, I note that we are more secure now, which indicates a good return on investment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that pricing is legitimate. It is not overpriced, but it is reasonable.
What other advice do I have?
On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate CIS Hardened Image Level 1 on Amazon Linux 2023 an eight.
I chose 8 out of 10 because, concerning our images, I see that most vulnerabilities and open issues reported in the vulnerability assessment report got mitigated, making it beneficial to have images hardened before using them in the production environment.
Regarding the accuracy and reliability of output from CIS Hardened Image Level 1 on Amazon Linux 2023, I find it good and close to accurate.
CIS Hardened Image Level 1 on Amazon Linux 2023 is deployed in my organization in both public cloud and on-premises environments, where we roll out individual environment-specific images that are embedded with hardening controls before any golden images are rolled out to ensure they are already hardened upon deployment.
In our public cloud deployments, we primarily use Amazon, but we also have Azure.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)