cyntrisec 0.1.4

AWS capability graph analysis and attack path discovery CLI

Cyntrisec CLI

AWS capability graph analysis and attack path discovery.

A read-only CLI tool that:

• Scans AWS infrastructure via AssumeRole
• Builds a capability graph (IAM, network, dependencies)
• Discovers attack paths from internet to sensitive targets
• Prioritizes fixes by ROI (security impact + cost savings)
• Identifies unused capabilities (blast radius reduction)
• Outputs deterministic JSON with proof chains

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                              CYNTRISEC CLI                                  │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                             │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │                         CLI Layer (typer)                           │   │
│  │  ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐       │   │
│  │  │  scan   │ │ analyze │ │  cuts   │ │  waste  │ │ report  │ ...   │   │
│  │  └────┬────┘ └────┬────┘ └────┬────┘ └────┬────┘ └────┬────┘       │   │
│  └───────┼──────────┼──────────┼──────────┼──────────┼────────────────┘   │
│          │          │          │          │          │                     │
│  ┌───────▼──────────▼──────────▼──────────▼──────────▼────────────────┐   │
│  │                         Core Engine                                 │   │
│  │  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐              │   │
│  │  │    Graph     │  │    Paths     │  │  Compliance  │              │   │
│  │  │  (AwsGraph)  │  │  (BFS/DFS)   │  │  (CIS/SOC2)  │              │   │
│  │  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘              │   │
│  │  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐              │   │
│  │  │    Cuts      │  │    Waste     │  │  Simulator   │              │   │
│  │  │ (Min-Cut)    │  │  (Unused)    │  │  (IAM Eval)  │              │   │
│  │  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘              │   │
│  └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
│          │                                                                 │
│  ┌───────▼────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │                         AWS Layer                                   │   │
│  │  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐              │   │
│  │  │  Collectors  │  │  Normalizers │  │ Relationship │              │   │
│  │  │  (EC2, IAM,  │  │  (Asset →    │  │   Builder    │              │   │
│  │  │   RDS, ...)  │  │   Schema)    │  │              │              │   │
│  │  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘  └──────────────┘              │   │
│  └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
│          │                                          │                      │
│  ┌───────▼──────────────────────┐   ┌──────────────▼──────────────────┐   │
│  │      Storage Layer           │   │         MCP Server              │   │
│  │  ┌────────────┐ ┌─────────┐  │   │  ┌──────────────────────────┐  │   │
│  │  │ Filesystem │ │ Memory  │  │   │  │  Tools: get_scan_summary │  │   │
│  │  │ (~/.cyntri │ │ (tests) │  │   │  │  get_attack_paths, ...   │  │   │
│  │  │   sec/)    │ │         │  │   │  └──────────────────────────┘  │   │
│  │  └────────────┘ └─────────┘  │   │                                 │   │
│  └──────────────────────────────┘   └─────────────────────────────────┘   │
│                                                                             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                                      │
                                      ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                            AWS Account                                      │
│  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐        │
│  │     IAM     │  │     EC2     │  │     RDS     │  │     S3      │  ...   │
│  │  (Roles,    │  │ (Instances, │  │ (Databases) │  │  (Buckets)  │        │
│  │  Policies)  │  │  SGs, VPCs) │  │             │  │             │        │
│  └─────────────┘  └─────────────┘  └─────────────┘  └─────────────┘        │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Data Flow

┌──────────┐    AssumeRole     ┌──────────┐    Describe/Get/List    ┌─────────┐
│   CLI    │ ─────────────────▶│   AWS    │ ◀─────────────────────▶ │  APIs   │
│  (scan)  │                   │  Session │                         │(read-only)
└────┬─────┘                   └──────────┘                         └─────────┘
     │
     ▼
┌──────────┐    normalize      ┌──────────┐    build edges    ┌──────────────┐
│Collectors│ ─────────────────▶│  Assets  │ ─────────────────▶│Relationships │
└──────────┘                   └──────────┘                   └──────┬───────┘
                                                                     │
     ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
     ▼
┌──────────┐    BFS/DFS        ┌──────────┐    min-cut        ┌──────────────┐
│ AwsGraph │ ─────────────────▶│  Attack  │ ─────────────────▶│ Remediation  │
│          │                   │  Paths   │                   │    Cuts      │
└──────────┘                   └──────────┘                   └──────────────┘

Installation

pip install cyntrisec

Windows PATH Fix

If you see "cyntrisec is not recognized", the Scripts folder isn't on PATH:

# Option 1: Run with python -m
python -m cyntrisec --help

# Option 2: Add to PATH for current session
$env:PATH += ";$env:APPDATA\Python\Python311\Scripts"

Quick Start

# 1. Create the read-only IAM role in your account
cyntrisec setup iam 123456789012 --output role.tf

# 2. Apply the Terraform
cd your-infra && terraform apply

# 3. Run a scan
cyntrisec scan --role-arn arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/CyntrisecReadOnly

# 4. View attack paths
cyntrisec analyze paths --min-risk 0.5

# 5. Find minimal fixes (prioritized by ROI)
cyntrisec cuts --format json

# 6. Generate HTML report
cyntrisec report --output report.html

Commands

Core Analysis

Command	Description
scan	Scan AWS infrastructure
analyze paths	View attack paths
analyze findings	View security findings
analyze stats	View scan statistics
analyze business	Business entrypoint analysis
report	Generate HTML/JSON report

Setup & Validation

Command	Description
setup iam	Generate IAM role Terraform
validate-role	Validate IAM role permissions

Remediation

Command	Description
cuts	Find minimal fixes (Cost & ROI prioritized)
waste	Find unused IAM permissions
remediate	Generate or optionally apply Terraform plans (gated)

Policy Testing

Command	Description
can	Test "can X access Y?"
diff	Compare scan snapshots
comply	Check CIS AWS / SOC2 compliance

Agentic Interface

Command	Description
manifest	Output machine-readable capabilities
explain	Natural language explanations
ask	Query scans in plain English
serve	Run as MCP server for AI agents

MCP Server Mode

Run Cyntrisec as an MCP server for AI agent integration:

# Install with MCP support
pip install "cyntrisec[mcp]"

cyntrisec serve              # Start stdio server
cyntrisec serve --list-tools # List available tools

MCP Tools: get_scan_summary, get_attack_paths, get_remediations, check_access, get_unused_permissions, check_compliance, compare_scans

Claude Desktop Config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cyntrisec": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "cyntrisec", "serve"]
    }
  }
}

Trust & Safety

Read-Only Guarantees

This tool makes read-only API calls to your AWS account. The IAM role should have only Describe*, Get*, List* permissions.

No Data Exfiltration

All data stays on your local machine. Nothing is sent to external servers. Scan results are stored in ~/.cyntrisec/scans/.

No Auto-Remediation (Default Safe Mode)

By default, Cyntrisec is read-only and does not modify your AWS infrastructure.

• It analyzes your account using read-only APIs.
• It can generate remediation artifacts (e.g., Terraform modules) for you to review.
• It does not apply changes automatically.

Optional Remediation Execution (Explicit Opt-In)

Cyntrisec includes an explicitly gated path that can execute Terraform only if you intentionally enable it.

This mode is:

• Disabled by default
• Requires --enable-unsafe-write-mode
• Requires an additional explicit flag (e.g. --execute-terraform) to run Terraform
• Intended for controlled environments (sandbox / CI with approvals), not unattended production

If you do not pass these flags, Cyntrisec will never run terraform apply.

Write Operations

Cyntrisec makes no AWS write API calls during scanning and analysis.

The only supported "write" behavior is optional execution of Terraform locally on your machine, and only when explicitly enabled via unsafe flags.

Every AWS API call is logged in CloudTrail under session name cyntrisec-cli.

Trust & Permissions

Cyntrisec runs with a read-only IAM role. Generate the recommended policy with cyntrisec setup iam <ACCOUNT_ID> and keep permissions to Describe*, Get*, and List*. Live modes (waste --live, can --live) require extra IAM permissions; the generated policy and docs cover those additions.

Output Format

Primary output is JSON to stdout. When stdout is not a TTY, the CLI automatically switches to JSON:

cyntrisec analyze paths --format json | jq '.paths[] | select(.risk_score > 0.7)'

Agent-friendly output wraps results in a structured envelope:

cyntrisec analyze paths --format agent

{
  "schema_version": "1.0",
  "status": "success",
  "data": {...},
  "artifact_paths": {...},
  "suggested_actions": [...]
}

Exit Codes

Code	Meaning
0	Success / compliant
1	Findings / regressions / denied
2	Usage error
3	Transient error (retry)
4	Internal error

Use in CI/CD:

cyntrisec scan --role-arn $ROLE_ARN || exit 1
cyntrisec diff || echo "Regressions detected"

Storage

Scan results are stored locally:

~/.cyntrisec/
├── scans/
│   ├── 2026-01-17_123456_123456789012/
│   │   ├── snapshot.json
│   │   ├── assets.json
│   │   ├── relationships.json
│   │   ├── findings.json
│   │   └── attack_paths.json
│   └── latest -> 2026-01-17_...
└── config.yaml

Versioning

This project follows Semantic Versioning. See CHANGELOG.md for release notes.

License

Apache-2.0

Links

• PyPI Package
• Website
• Twitter/X