EC2 Hibernation

Risk Level: Low (generally tolerable level of risk)

Rule ID: EC2-066

Enable hibernation as an additional stop behavior for your EBS-backed Amazon EC2 instances in order to reduce the time it takes for these instances to return to service at restart. This feature can be useful for certain application workloads, as hibernation stops the EC2 instance and saves the contents of the instance's RAM memory to the root volume. The Hibernation feature is only available for Amazon EC2 On-Demand and Reserved Instances.

This rule resolution is part of the Conformity Security & Compliance tool for AWS.

Reliability

Sustainability

Your applications can take tens of minutes to preload or warm up when relying on caches and other RAM memory-centric components, and this service delay can force you to over-provision in case you need incremental compute capacity very quickly. With Amazon EC2 hibernation enabled, you can maintain your EC2 instances in a "pre-warmed" state so these can get to a productive state faster.

Note: Hibernation is currently supported by Amazon EC2 instances running Amazon Linux AMI version 1, which use the following instance types: M3, M4, M5, C3, C4, C5, R3, R4 and R5. Also, to make use of the Hibernation feature, the EBS root volume attached to the instance must be encrypted to ensure the protection of sensitive data in memory as this gets copied to the root volume.

Audit

To determine if the Hibernation feature is enabled for your EBS-backed EC2 instances, perform the following operations:

Using AWS Console

01 Sign in to the AWS Management Console.

02 Navigate to Amazon EC2 console available at https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/.

03 In the left navigation panel, under Instances, choose Instances.

04 Select the Amazon EC2 instance that you want to examine.

05 Choose the Details tab from the console split panel to access the instance configuration information.

06 In the Instance details section, check the Stop-hibernate behavior attribute value to determine the hibernation configuration for the selected instance. If the attribute value is set to Disabled, the Hibernation feature is not enabled for the selected Amazon EC2 instance.

07 Repeat steps no. 4 – 6 for each Amazon EC2 instance available within the current AWS cloud region.

08 Change the AWS cloud region from the console navigation bar and repeat the Audit process for other regions.

Using AWS CLI

01 Run describe-instances command (OSX/Linux/UNIX) with custom output filters to list the IDs of the Amazon EC2 instances provisioned in the selected AWS cloud region:

aws ec2 describe-instances
	--region us-east-1
	--output table
	--query 'Reservations[*].Instances[*].InstanceId'

02 The command output should return a table with the requested EC2 instance identifiers (IDs):

 -------------------------
|   DescribeInstances   |
+-----------------------+
|  i-01234abcd1234abcd  |
|  i-0abcdabcdabcdabcd  |
|  i-0abcd1234abcd1234  |
+-----------------------+

03 Run describe-instances command (OSX/Linux/UNIX) with the ID of the Amazon EC2 instance that you want to examine as the identifier parameter and custom output filters to determine whether the selected EBS-backed EC2 instance is configured for hibernation:

aws ec2 describe-instances
	--region us-east-1
	--instance-ids i-01234abcd1234abcd
	--query "Reservations[*].Instances[*].HibernationOptions.Configured | []"

04 The command output should return the hibernation status (true for enabled, false for disabled):

[
    false
]

If the describe-instances command output returns false, as shown in the example above, the Hibernation feature is not enabled for the selected Amazon EC2 instance.

05 Repeat step no. 3 and 4 for each EBS-backed Amazon EC2 instance launched in the selected AWS region.

06 Change the AWS cloud region by updating the --region command parameter value and repeat the audit process for other regions.

Remediation / Resolution

You can't enable hibernation on an existing Amazon EC2 instance (running or stopped instance). To hibernate your EC2 instance, make sure that the following prerequisites are met. To enable the feature, you must relaunch your Amazon EC2 instance and configure hibernation at launch. To re-create your EC2 instance, perform the following operations:

Using AWS CloudFormation

01 CloudFormation template (JSON):

{
	"AWSTemplateFormatVersion":"2010-09-09",
	"Description":"Enable Hibernation for EC2 Instances",
	"Parameters":{
		"InstanceKeyName":{
			"Type":"AWS::EC2::KeyPair::KeyName",
			"Description":"The SSH key used to access the instance."
		},
		"InstanceSecurityGroup":{
			"Type":"AWS::EC2::SecurityGroup::Id",
			"Description":"The ID of the security group to use."
		}
	},
	"Resources":{
		"NewEC2Instance":{
			"Type":"AWS::EC2::Instance",
			"Properties":{
			"ImageId":"ami-0abcd1234abcd1234",
			"InstanceType":"t3.micro",
			"KeyName":{
				"Ref":"InstanceKeyName"
			},
			"SubnetId":"subnet-abcd1234",
			"SecurityGroupIds":[
				{
					"Ref":"InstanceSecurityGroup"
				}
			],
			"BlockDeviceMappings":[
				{
					"DeviceName":"/dev/xvda",
					"Ebs":{
						"VolumeSize":"50",
						"VolumeType":"gp2"
					}
				}
			],
			"HibernationOptions" : {
				"Configured" : true
			}
			}
		}
	}
}

02 CloudFormation template (YAML):

AWSTemplateFormatVersion: '2010-09-09'
	Description: Enable Hibernation for EC2 Instances
	Parameters:
		InstanceKeyName:
		Type: AWS::EC2::KeyPair::KeyName
		Description: The SSH key used to access the instance.
		InstanceSecurityGroup:
		Type: AWS::EC2::SecurityGroup::Id
		Description: The ID of the security group to use.
	Resources:
		NewEC2Instance:
		Type: AWS::EC2::Instance
		Properties:
			ImageId: ami-0abcd1234abcd1234
			InstanceType: t3.micro
			KeyName: !Ref 'InstanceKeyName'
			SubnetId: subnet-abcd1234
			SecurityGroupIds:
			- !Ref 'InstanceSecurityGroup'
			BlockDeviceMappings:
			- DeviceName: /dev/xvda
				Ebs:
				VolumeSize: '50'
				VolumeType: gp2
			HibernationOptions:
			Configured: true

Using Terraform (AWS Provider)

01 Terraform configuration file (.tf):

terraform {
	required_providers {
	aws = {
		source  = "hashicorp/aws"
		version = "~> 3.27"
	}
	}

	required_version = ">= 0.14.9"
}

provider "aws" {
	profile = "default"
	region  = "us-east-1"
}

resource "aws_instance" "new-ec2-instance" {

	ami = "ami-0abcd1234abcd1234"
	instance_type = "t3.micro"
	key_name = "ssh-key"
	subnet_id = "subnet-abcd1234"
	vpc_security_group_ids = [ "sg-01234abcd1234abcd" ]

	ebs_block_device {
	device_name = "/dev/xvda"
	volume_size = 50
	volume_type = "gp2"
	}

	lifecycle {
	ignore_changes = [ami]
	}

	# Enable Hibernation
	hibernation = true

}

Using AWS Console

01 Sign in to the AWS Management Console.

02 Navigate to Amazon EC2 console available at https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/.

03 In the left navigation panel, under Instances, choose Instances.

04 Select the Amazon EC2 instance that you want to re-create.

05 Choose Actions from the top-right menu, select Image and templates, and choose Create image.

06 On the Create image setup page, provide the following information:

For Image name, type a unique name for your new Amazon Machine Image (AMI).
(Optional) For Image description - optional, provide a short description that reflects the usage of the selected EC2 instance.
Select the Reboot instance setting checkbox to ensure data consistency. When this option is selected, Amazon EC2 reboots the instance so that data is at rest when snapshots of the attached volumes are taken.
(Optional) For Tags - optional, choose Tag image and snapshots together, and use the Add new tag button to create and apply user-defined tags to the new image. Tags can be used to search and filter your cloud resources or track your AWS costs.
Choose Create image to create your new AMI.

07 In the left navigation panel, under Images, select AMIs, and check the Status column to determine the state of your new AMI. Once the Status is set to Available, the image is ready to be used to relaunch your Amazon EC2 instance with hibernation enabled.

08 In the left navigation panel, under Instances, select Instances, choose Launch instances, and perform the following actions to launch your new EC2 instance:

For Name and tags, provide a name tag for your instance in the Name box. (Optional) Choose Add additional tags to apply user-defined tags to your new EC2 instance. You can track compute cost and other criteria by tagging your instance.
For Application and OS Images (Amazon Machine Image), select My AMIs tab, choose Owned by me, and select the name of the AMI created in step no. 6 from the Amazon Machine Image (AMI) dropdown list.
For Instance type, select the required instance type from the Instance type dropdown list (must match the hardware configuration of the source instance).
For Key pair (login), you can select the same key pair as the source instance from the Key pair name - required dropdown list or choose Create new key pair to create a new key pair for your instance.
For Network settings, choose Select existing security group under Firewall (security groups), and select the appropriate security group(s) from the Common security groups dropdown list (must match the security group configuration of the source instance). If you need to change the VPC network settings, choose Edit, and make sure the network settings align with the source instance settings.
For Configure storage, configure the storage device settings (must match the storage configuration of the source instance).
For Advanced details, configure the advanced settings supported by your EC2 instance. For Stop - Hibernate behavior, choose Enable to enable the Hibernation feature for your new Amazon EC2 instance.
For Summary, review the instance details, and choose Launch instance to deploy your new, compliant Amazon EC2 instance.
Choose View all instances to view your new EC2 instance. Once the Instance State is set to Running, your new instance is ready to use.

09 (Optional) To stop incurring any charges for your non-compliant (source) instance, you must terminate it. To shut down the instance, perform the following actions:

In the left navigation panel, under Instances, choose Instances.
Select the Amazon EC2 instance that you want to terminate.
Choose Instance state and select Terminate (delete) instance.
In the Terminate (delete) instance confirmation box, review the instance details, then choose Terminate (delete) to terminate the selected EC2 instance.

10 Repeat steps no. 2 – 9 for each Amazon EC2 instance that you want to re-create, available within the current AWS cloud region.

11 Change the AWS cloud region from the console navigation bar and repeat the Remediation process for other regions.

Using AWS CLI

01 Run describe-instances command (OSX/Linux/UNIX) to list the configuration information for the Amazon EC2 instance that you want to re-create (i.e., source instance):

aws ec2 describe-instances
	--region us-east-1
	--instance-ids i-01234abcd1234abcd
	--query 'Reservations[*].Instances[]'

02 The command output should return the configuration information necessary for re-creating your Amazon EC2 instance:

[
	{
		"Architecture": "x86_64",
		"BlockDeviceMappings": [
			{
				"DeviceName": "/dev/xvda",
				"Ebs": {
					"AttachTime": "2025-07-01T11:00:32+00:00",
					"DeleteOnTermination": true,
					"Status": "attached",
					"VolumeId": "vol-0abcd1234abcd1234"
				}
			}
		],
		"EbsOptimized": false,
		"EnaSupport": true,
		"Hypervisor": "xen",
		"NetworkInterfaces": [
			{
				"Association": {
					"IpOwnerId": "amazon",
					"PublicDnsName": "ec2-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx.compute-1.amazonaws.com",
					"PublicIp": "xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx"
				},
				"Attachment": {
					"AttachTime": "2025-07-01T11:00:31+00:00",
					"AttachmentId": "eni-attach-01234abcd1234abcd",
					"DeleteOnTermination": true,
					"DeviceIndex": 0,
					"Status": "attached",
					"NetworkCardIndex": 0
				},
				"Description": "",
				"Groups": [
					{
						"GroupId": "sg-0abcd1234abcd1234",
						"GroupName": "cc-project5-security-group"
					}
				],
				"Ipv6Addresses": [],
				"NetworkInterfaceId": "eni-01234abcd1234abcd",
				"OwnerId": "123456789012",
				"PrivateDnsName": "ip-172-10-20-30.ec2.internal",
				"PrivateIpAddress": "172.10.20.30",
				"PrivateIpAddresses": [
					{
						"Association": {
							"IpOwnerId": "amazon",
							"PublicDnsName": "ec2-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx.compute-1.amazonaws.com",
							"PublicIp": "xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx"
						},
						"Primary": true,
						"PrivateDnsName": "ip-172-10-20-30.ec2.internal",
						"PrivateIpAddress": "172.10.20.30"
					}
				],
				"SourceDestCheck": true,
				"Status": "in-use",
				"SubnetId": "subnet-01234abcd1234abcd",
				"VpcId": "vpc-0abcd1234abcd1234",
				"InterfaceType": "interface",
				"Operator": {
					"Managed": false
				}
			}
		],
		"RootDeviceName": "/dev/xvda",
		"RootDeviceType": "ebs",
		"SecurityGroups": [
			{
				"GroupId": "sg-0abcd1234abcd1234",
				"GroupName": "cc-project5-security-group"
			}
		],
		"SourceDestCheck": true,
		"Tags": [
			{
				"Key": "Name",
				"Value": "cc-project5-prod-instance"
			}
		],
		"VirtualizationType": "hvm",
		"CpuOptions": {
			"CoreCount": 1,
			"ThreadsPerCore": 1
		},
		"CapacityReservationSpecification": {
			"CapacityReservationPreference": "open"
		},
		"HibernationOptions": {
			"Configured": false
		},
		"MetadataOptions": {
			"State": "applied",
			"HttpTokens": "required",
			"HttpPutResponseHopLimit": 2,
			"HttpEndpoint": "enabled",
			"HttpProtocolIpv6": "disabled",
			"InstanceMetadataTags": "disabled"
		},
		"EnclaveOptions": {
			"Enabled": false
		},
		"BootMode": "uefi-preferred",
		"PlatformDetails": "Linux/UNIX",
		"UsageOperation": "RunInstances",
		"UsageOperationUpdateTime": "2025-07-01T11:00:31+00:00",
		"PrivateDnsNameOptions": {
			"HostnameType": "ip-name",
			"EnableResourceNameDnsARecord": true,
			"EnableResourceNameDnsAAAARecord": false
		},
		"MaintenanceOptions": {
			"AutoRecovery": "default",
			"RebootMigration": "default"
		},
		"CurrentInstanceBootMode": "legacy-bios",
		"NetworkPerformanceOptions": {
			"BandwidthWeighting": "default"
		},
		"Operator": {
			"Managed": false
		},
		"InstanceId": "i-01234abcd1234abcd",
		"ImageId": "ami-0abcd1234abcd1234",
		"State": {
			"Code": 16,
			"Name": "running"
		},
		"PrivateDnsName": "ip-172-10-20-30.ec2.internal",
		"PublicDnsName": "ec2-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx.compute-1.amazonaws.com",
		"StateTransitionReason": "",
		"KeyName": "cc-project5-ssh-key",
		"AmiLaunchIndex": 0,
		"ProductCodes": [],
		"InstanceType": "t2.micro",
		"LaunchTime": "2025-07-01T10:01:31+00:00",
		"Placement": {
			"GroupName": "",
			"Tenancy": "default",
			"AvailabilityZone": "us-east-1a"
		},
		"Monitoring": {
			"State": "disabled"
		},
		"SubnetId": "subnet-01234abcd1234abcd",
		"VpcId": "vpc-0abcd1234abcd1234",
		"PrivateIpAddress": "172.10.20.30",
		"PublicIpAddress": "xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx"
	}
]

03 Run create-image command (OSX/Linux/UNIX) to create an Amazon Machine Image (AMI) from the source Amazon EC2 instance described in the previous step. Include the --no-reboot command parameter to ensure data consistency. When this parameter is included, Amazon EC2 reboots the instance so that data is at rest when snapshots of the attached volumes are taken:

aws ec2 create-image
	--region us-east-1
	--instance-id i-01234abcd1234abcd
	--name "Project5 Prod Instance AMI"
	--description "Production Stack AMI version 2.0"
	--no-reboot

04 The command output should return the ID of the new Amazon Machine Image (AMI):

{
	"ImageId": "ami-0abcdabcdabcdabcd"
}

05 Perform run-instances command (OSX/Linux/UNIX) to launch a new Amazon EC2 instance from the AMI created in the previous steps. Use the information returned in step no. 2 to configure your new EC2 instance. Set the --hibernation-options parameter to Configured=true to enable the Hibernation feature for your new EC2 instance:

aws ec2 run-instances
	--region us-east-1
	--image-id ami-0abcdabcdabcdabcd
	--count 1
	--instance-type t2.micro
	--key-name cc-project5-ssh-key
	--security-group-ids sg-0abcd1234abcd1234
	--tag-specifications 'ResourceType=instance,Tags=[{Key=Name,Value=cc-project5-prod-instance}]'
	--hibernation-options Configured=true
	--query 'Instances[]'

06 The command output should return the configuration information for the newly created EC2 instance:

[
	{
		"Architecture": "x86_64",
		"BlockDeviceMappings": [],
		"EbsOptimized": false,
		"EnaSupport": true,
		"Hypervisor": "xen",
		"NetworkInterfaces": [
			{
				"Attachment": {
					"AttachTime": "2025-07-01T11:50:48+00:00",
					"AttachmentId": "eni-attach-01234abcd1234abcd",
					"DeleteOnTermination": true,
					"DeviceIndex": 0,
					"Status": "attaching",
					"NetworkCardIndex": 0
				},
				"Description": "",
				"Groups": [
					{
						"GroupId": "sg-0abcd1234abcd1234",
						"GroupName": "cc-project5-security-group"
					}
				],
				"Ipv6Addresses": [],
				"NetworkInterfaceId": "eni-01234abcd1234abcd",
				"OwnerId": "123456789012",
				"PrivateDnsName": "ip-172-20-30-40.ec2.internal",
				"PrivateIpAddress": "172.20.30.40",
				"PrivateIpAddresses": [
					{
						"Primary": true,
						"PrivateDnsName": "ip-172-20-30-40.ec2.internal",
						"PrivateIpAddress": "172.20.30.40"
					}
				],
				"SourceDestCheck": true,
				"Status": "in-use",
				"SubnetId": "subnet-01234abcd1234abcd",
				"VpcId": "vpc-0abcd1234abcd1234",
				"InterfaceType": "interface",
				"Operator": {
					"Managed": false
				}
			}
		],
		"RootDeviceName": "/dev/xvda",
		"RootDeviceType": "ebs",
		"SecurityGroups": [
			{
				"GroupId": "sg-0abcd1234abcd1234",
				"GroupName": "cc-project5-security-group"
			}
		],
		"SourceDestCheck": true,
		"StateReason": {
			"Code": "pending",
			"Message": "pending"
		},
		"Tags": [
			{
				"Key": "Name",
				"Value": "cc-project5-prod-instance"
			}
		],
		"VirtualizationType": "hvm",
		"CpuOptions": {
			"CoreCount": 1,
			"ThreadsPerCore": 1
		},
		"CapacityReservationSpecification": {
			"CapacityReservationPreference": "open"
		},
		"MetadataOptions": {
			"State": "pending",
			"HttpTokens": "required",
			"HttpPutResponseHopLimit": 2,
			"HttpEndpoint": "enabled",
			"HttpProtocolIpv6": "disabled",
			"InstanceMetadataTags": "disabled"
		},
		"EnclaveOptions": {
			"Enabled": false
		},
		"BootMode": "uefi-preferred",
		"PrivateDnsNameOptions": {
			"HostnameType": "ip-name",
			"EnableResourceNameDnsARecord": false,
			"EnableResourceNameDnsAAAARecord": false
		},
		"MaintenanceOptions": {
			"AutoRecovery": "default",
			"RebootMigration": "default"
		},
		"CurrentInstanceBootMode": "legacy-bios",
		"Operator": {
			"Managed": false
		},
		"InstanceId": "i-0abcd1234abcd1234",
		"ImageId": "ami-0abcdabcdabcdabcd",
		"State": {
			"Code": 0,
			"Name": "pending"
		},
		"PrivateDnsName": "ip-172-20-30-40.ec2.internal",
		"PublicDnsName": "",
		"StateTransitionReason": "",
		"KeyName": "cc-project5-ssh-key",
		"AmiLaunchIndex": 0,
		"ProductCodes": [],
		"InstanceType": "t2.micro",
		"LaunchTime": "2025-07-01T11:50:48+00:00",
		"Placement": {
			"GroupName": "",
			"Tenancy": "default",
			"AvailabilityZone": "us-east-1a"
		},
		"Monitoring": {
			"State": "disabled"
		},
		"SubnetId": "subnet-01234abcd1234abcd",
		"VpcId": "vpc-0abcd1234abcd1234",
		"PrivateIpAddress": "172.20.30.40"
	}
]

07 (Optional) To make use of hibernation, run stop-instances command (OSX/Linux/UNIX) with the ID of the newly created EC2 instance as the identifier parameter to get the specified instance into the hibernation state:

aws ec2 stop-instances
	--region us-east-1
	--instance-ids i-0abcd1234abcd1234
	--hibernate

08 The output should return the stop-instances command request information:

{
	"StoppingInstances": [
		{
			"InstanceId": "i-0abcd1234abcd1234",
			"CurrentState": {
				"Code": 64,
				"Name": "stopping"
			},
			"PreviousState": {
				"Code": 16,
				"Name": "running"
			}
		}
	]
}

09 (Optional) You can terminate the source (non-compliant) EC2 instance in order to stop incurring charges for it. To shut down the instance, run terminate-instances command (OSX/Linux/UNIX) with the source instance ID as the identifier parameter:

aws ec2 terminate-instances
	--region us-east-1
	--instance-ids i-01234abcd1234abcd

10 The output should return the terminate-instances command request information:

{
	"TerminatingInstances": [
		{
			"InstanceId": "i-01234abcd1234abcd",
			"CurrentState": {
				"Code": 32,
				"Name": "shutting-down"
			},
			"PreviousState": {
				"Code": 16,
				"Name": "running"
			}
		}
	]
}

11 Repeat steps no. 1 – 10 for each Amazon EC2 instance that you want to re-create, available in the selected AWS cloud region.

12 Change the AWS cloud region by updating the --region command parameter value and repeat the Remediation process for other regions.

References

AWS Command Line Interface (CLI) Documentation
describe-instances
create-image
run-instances
stop-instances
terminate-instances

CloudFormation Documentation
Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud resource type reference

Terraform Documentation
AWS Provider

Publication date Feb 13, 2019

Audit

Using AWS Console

Using AWS CLI

Remediation / Resolution

Using AWS CloudFormation

Using Terraform (AWS Provider)

Using AWS Console

Using AWS CLI

References

Related EC2 rules