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IAM Policy Map

AmazonElasticFileSystemClientFullAccess

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Summary

Provides root client access to an Amazon EFS file system. The Amazon EFS User Guide describes it as granting read and write client access, allowing NFS clients to mount, read and write to EFS file systems.

Permissions imported from the AWS Managed Policy Reference Guide; other sections reviewed against the listed AWS sources.

Identity

ARN
arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AmazonElasticFileSystemClientFullAccess
Default version
v1
Created
Last edited
Services
elasticfilesystem

Control-plane actions (4)

By access level: 2 Read, 2 Write.

Control-plane actions by service
ServiceGrantedAccess levels and limitsGranted by
EFS4 of 382 Read, 2 Write; 0 restricted, 0 conditionalelasticfilesystem:ClientMount, elasticfilesystem:ClientRootAccess, elasticfilesystem:ClientWrite, elasticfilesystem:DescribeMountTargets
EFS: 4 actions
  • elasticfilesystem:ClientMount (Read)
  • elasticfilesystem:ClientRootAccess (Write)
  • elasticfilesystem:ClientWrite (Write)
  • elasticfilesystem:DescribeMountTargets (Read)

Data-plane actions (0)

By access level: none.

This policy grants no actions in this plane.

Excluded and conditional actions

No patterns are excluded by NotAction or Deny statements.

Resource scope and attachment

Resource scope across granted actions: all-resources.

Can be attached: Yes, to users, groups and roles.

Why this tier

  • Grants 2 write, tagging or permissions-management actions, short of full control of any service.
  • 2 granted write or permissions-management actions have no data-plane classification from AWS, so the data-plane rule cannot assess them.

Guidance

Practical scope

One statement on Resource "*" allows elasticfilesystem:ClientMount, elasticfilesystem:ClientRootAccess, elasticfilesystem:ClientWrite and elasticfilesystem:DescribeMountTargets.

Use cases

  • Let an NFS client mount an Amazon EFS file system and read and write to it.

Best practices

  • AWS managed policies don't grant least privilege permissions. The IAM User Guide suggests using IAM Access Analyzer to see which permissions principals actually use, then writing a custom policy or generating one with only the required permissions.

Security considerations

  • The action list includes elasticfilesystem:ClientRootAccess and elasticfilesystem:ClientWrite on Resource "*", so the access applies to every EFS file system. The reference description says root client access, while the Amazon EFS User Guide describes read and write client access.
  • You cannot change the permissions in an AWS managed policy. If AWS updates the policy, the update affects every user, group and role it is attached to.

Assignment guidance

You can attach this policy to your users, groups and roles. The reference page also links to guidance on creating a permission set using AWS managed policies in IAM Identity Center. The Amazon EFS User Guide says you can attach it to an IAM entity. It fits where read and write client access from NFS clients is intended.

Related policies

Same service

Same domain

Frequently asked questions

When should I attach AmazonElasticFileSystemClientFullAccess?
The Amazon EFS User Guide says you can attach it to an IAM entity, and that it allows NFS clients to mount, read and write to EFS file systems. Attach it where that client access is intended.
What does AmazonElasticFileSystemClientFullAccess grant?
It allows elasticfilesystem:ClientMount, elasticfilesystem:ClientRootAccess, elasticfilesystem:ClientWrite and elasticfilesystem:DescribeMountTargets on all resources.
What are the security risks of AmazonElasticFileSystemClientFullAccess?
It includes elasticfilesystem:ClientRootAccess and elasticfilesystem:ClientWrite on all resources, and the reference description calls it root client access. AWS managed policies don't grant least privilege permissions, and you must consider the security risk of granting principals more permissions than they need. AWS updates to the policy affect every identity it is attached to.

Policy JSON

Download policy.json

{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": [
        "elasticfilesystem:ClientMount",
        "elasticfilesystem:ClientRootAccess",
        "elasticfilesystem:ClientWrite",
        "elasticfilesystem:DescribeMountTargets"
      ],
      "Resource": "*"
    }
  ]
}

Version history

Current version v1, edited by AWS on 2020-01-13. Version history is recorded from 2026-11-11. Earlier versions are in the IAM console under Policy versions.

Attach snippets

AWS CLI

aws iam attach-role-policy --role-name ROLE_NAME --policy-arn arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AmazonElasticFileSystemClientFullAccess
aws iam attach-user-policy --user-name USER_NAME --policy-arn arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AmazonElasticFileSystemClientFullAccess
aws iam attach-group-policy --group-name GROUP_NAME --policy-arn arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AmazonElasticFileSystemClientFullAccess

CloudFormation

Resources:
  ExampleRole:
    Type: AWS::IAM::Role
    Properties:
      AssumeRolePolicyDocument: {}  # replace with your trust policy
      ManagedPolicyArns:
        - arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AmazonElasticFileSystemClientFullAccess

Terraform

resource "aws_iam_role_policy_attachment" "amazonelasticfilesystemclientfullaccess" {
  role       = aws_iam_role.example.name
  policy_arn = "arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AmazonElasticFileSystemClientFullAccess"
}

CDK (TypeScript)

role.addManagedPolicy(
  iam.ManagedPolicy.fromAwsManagedPolicyName("AmazonElasticFileSystemClientFullAccess"),
);

Sources