Elastic IP is associated with an instance or network interface
ec2_elastic_ip_unassigned
EC2 Elastic IPs that are allocated but not associated with any instance or network interface. The evaluation identifies EIPs present in the account without an active association.
Risk
Unused Elastic IPs consume public IPv4 capacity and incur ongoing charges. Hoarded addresses can exhaust quotas, blocking new allocations and delaying deployments (availability). Lack of ownership tracking increases operational drift and misconfigurations, risking unintended exposure when later reassigned.
prowler aws --checks ec2_elastic_ip_unassigned
Recommendation
Release unused Elastic IPs or promptly associate them only where required. Enforce least privilege for address allocation, apply tagging to track ownership, and schedule periodic audits. Prefer private networking or managed front ends to reduce public IPv4 use. Automate reclaiming of unassociated addresses in lifecycle policies.
Remediation
aws ec2 release-address --allocation-id <ALLOCATION_ID>
- In the AWS console, go to EC2 > Network & Security > Elastic IPs
- Select the Elastic IP with Status = Not associated
- Choose Actions > Associate Elastic IP address
- Select Instance (or Network interface), pick the target, and click Associate
- Alternatively, to remove the finding by deleting the unused EIP: Actions > Release Elastic IP address > Release
Source Code
Resource Type
AwsEc2Eip