Manage security posture by using custom constraints

Premium and Enterpriseservice tiers (requiresorganization-level activation)

This page shows you how to use Organization Policy Service custom constraints to restrictspecific operations on the following Google Cloud resources:

  • securityposture.googleapis.com/Posture
  • securityposture.googleapis.com/PostureDeployment

To learn more about Organization Policy, seeCustom organization policies.

About organization policies and constraints

The Google Cloud Organization Policy Service gives you centralized, programmaticcontrol over your organization's resources. As theorganization policy administrator, you can define an organizationpolicy, which is a set of restrictions calledconstraints that apply toGoogle Cloud resources and descendants of those resources in theGoogle Cloud resource hierarchy. You can enforce organizationpolicies at the organization, folder, or project level.

Organization Policy provides built-inmanaged constraintsfor various Google Cloud services. However, if you want more granular,customizable control over the specific fields that are restricted in yourorganization policies, you can also createcustom constraints and use thosecustom constraints in an organization policy.

Policy inheritance

By default, organization policies are inherited by the descendants of theresources on which you enforce the policy. For example, if you enforce a policyon a folder, Google Cloud enforces the policy on all projects in thefolder. To learn more about this behavior and how to change it, refer toHierarchy evaluation rules.

Benefits

You can use custom organization policies with security posture todo the following:

  • Allow posture to be created with a certain STATE
  • Allow posture creation with a certain type of Policy
  • Allow posture deployment to certain target resources
  • Allow posture deployment for specific postures

Before you begin

  • Ensure that you know yourorganization ID.
  • Install and initialize the Google Cloud CLI.
    1. Install the Google Cloud CLI.

    2. If you're using an external identity provider (IdP), you must first sign in to the gcloud CLI with your federated identity.

    3. Toinitialize the gcloud CLI, run the following command:

      gcloudinit
  • Required roles

    To get the permissions that you need to manage custom organization policies, ask your administrator to grant you theOrganization Policy Administrator (roles/orgpolicy.policyAdmin) IAM role on the organization resource. For more information about granting roles, seeManage access to projects, folders, and organizations.

    You might also be able to get the required permissions throughcustom roles or otherpredefined roles.

    Set up a custom constraint

    A custom constraint is defined in a YAML file by the resources, methods,conditions, and actions that are supported by the service on which you areenforcing the organization policy. Conditions for your custom constraints aredefined usingCommon Expression Language (CEL). For more information about how to buildconditions in custom constraints using CEL, see the CEL section ofCreating and managing custom constraints.

    Console

    To create a custom constraint, do the following:

    1. In the Google Cloud console, go to theOrganization policies page.

      Go to Organization policies

    2. From the project picker, select the project that you want to set the organization policy for.
    3. ClickCustom constraint.
    4. In theDisplay name box, enter a human-readable name for the constraint. This name is used in error messages and can be used for identification and debugging. Don't use PII or sensitive data in display names because this name could be exposed in error messages. This field can contain up to 200 characters.
    5. In theConstraint ID box, enter the name that you want for your new custom constraint. A custom constraint can only contain letters (including upper and lowercase) or numbers, for examplecustom.disableGkeAutoUpgrade. This field can contain up to 70 characters, not counting the prefix (custom.), for example,organizations/123456789/customConstraints/custom. Don't include PII or sensitive data in your constraint ID, because it could be exposed in error messages.
    6. In theDescription box, enter a human-readable description of the constraint. This description is used as an error message when the policy is violated. Include details about why the policy violation occurred and how to resolve the policy violation. Don't include PII or sensitive data in your description, because it could be exposed in error messages. This field can contain up to 2000 characters.
    7. In theResource type box, select the name of the Google Cloud REST resource containing the object and field that you want to restrict—for example,container.googleapis.com/NodePool. Most resource types support up to 20 custom constraints. If you attempt to create more custom constraints, the operation fails.
    8. UnderEnforcement method, select whether to enforce the constraint on a RESTCREATE method or on bothCREATE andUPDATE methods. If you enforce the constraint with theUPDATE method on a resource that violates the constraint, changes to that resource are blocked by the organization policy unless the change resolves the violation.
    9. Not all Google Cloud services support both methods. To see supported methods for each service, find the service in Supported services.

    10. To define a condition, clickEdit condition.
      1. In theAdd condition panel, create a CEL condition that refers to a supported service resource, for example,resource.management.autoUpgrade == false. This field can contain up to 1000 characters. For details about CEL usage, see Common Expression Language. For more information about the service resources you can use in your custom constraints, see Custom constraint supported services.
      2. ClickSave.
    11. UnderAction, select whether to allow or deny the evaluated method if the condition is met.
    12. The deny action means that the operation to create or update the resource is blocked if the condition evaluates to true.

      The allow action means that the operation to create or update the resource is permitted only if the condition evaluates to true. Every other case except ones explicitly listed in the condition is blocked.

    13. ClickCreate constraint.
    14. When you have entered a value into each field, the equivalent YAML configuration for this custom constraint appears on the right.

    gcloud

    1. To create a custom constraint, create a YAML file using the following format:
    2. name:organizations/ORGANIZATION_ID/customConstraints/CONSTRAINT_NAMEresourceTypes:-RESOURCE_NAMEmethodTypes:-CREATE
      - UPDATE
      condition:"CONDITION"actionType:ACTIONdisplayName:DISPLAY_NAMEdescription:DESCRIPTION

      Replace the following:

      • ORGANIZATION_ID: your organization ID, such as123456789.
      • CONSTRAINT_NAME: the name that you want for your new custom constraint. A custom constraint can only contain letters (including upper and lowercase) or numbers, for example,custom.LbTrafficExtensionDenyBodyEvents. This field can contain up to 70 characters.
      • RESOURCE_NAME: the fully qualified name of the Google Cloud resource containing the object and field that you want to restrict. For example,networkservices.googleapis.com/LbTrafficExtension.
      • CONDITION: a CEL condition that is written against a representation of a supported service resource. This field can contain up to 1000 characters. For example,"resource.extensionChains.all(value, value.extensions.all(value, value.supportedEvents.all(value, value.contains("BODY"))))".
      • For more information about the resources available to write conditions against, seeSupported resources.

      • ACTION: the action to take if thecondition is met. Possible values areALLOW andDENY.
      • The allow action means that if the condition evaluates to true, the operation to create or update the resource is permitted. This also means that every other case except the one explicitly listed in the condition is blocked.

        The deny action means that if the condition evaluates to true, the operation to create or update the resource is blocked.

      • DISPLAY_NAME: a human-friendly name for the constraint. This field can contain up to 200 characters.
      • DESCRIPTION: a human-friendly description of the constraint to display as an error message when the policy is violated. This field can contain up to 2000 characters.
    3. After you have created the YAML file for a new custom constraint, you must set it up to make it available for organization policies in your organization. To set up a custom constraint, use thegcloud org-policies set-custom-constraint command:
    4. gcloudorg-policiesset-custom-constraintCONSTRAINT_PATH

      ReplaceCONSTRAINT_PATH with the full path to your custom constraint file. For example,/home/user/customconstraint.yaml.

      After this operation is complete, your custom constraints are available as organization policies in your list of Google Cloud organization policies.

    5. To verify that the custom constraint exists, use thegcloud org-policies list-custom-constraints command:
    6. gcloudorg-policieslist-custom-constraints--organization=ORGANIZATION_ID

      ReplaceORGANIZATION_ID with the ID of your organization resource.

      For more information, see Viewing organization policies.

    Enforce a custom organization policy

    You can enforce a constraint by creating an organization policy that references it, and thenapplying that organization policy to a Google Cloud resource.

    Console

    1. In the Google Cloud console, go to theOrganization policies page.

      Go to Organization policies

    2. From the project picker, select the project that you want to set the organization policy for.
    3. From the list on theOrganization policies page, select your constraint to view thePolicy details page for that constraint.
    4. To configure the organization policy for this resource, clickManage policy.
    5. On theEdit policy page, selectOverride parent's policy.
    6. ClickAdd a rule.
    7. In theEnforcement section, select whether this organization policy is enforced or not.
    8. Optional: To make the organization policy conditional on a tag, clickAdd condition. Note that if you add a conditional rule to an organization policy, you must add at least one unconditional rule or the policy cannot be saved. For more information, see Setting an organization policy with tags.
    9. ClickTest changes to simulate the effect of the organization policy. For more information, see Test organization policy changes with Policy Simulator.
    10. To enforce the organization policy in dry-run mode, clickSet dry run policy. For more information, see Create an organization policy in dry-run mode.
    11. After you verify that the organization policy in dry-run mode works as intended, set the live policy by clickingSet policy.

    gcloud

    1. To create an organization policy with boolean rules, create a policy YAML file that references the constraint:
    2. name:projects/PROJECT_ID/policies/CONSTRAINT_NAMEspec:rules:-enforce:truedryRunSpec:rules:-enforce:true

      Replace the following:

      • PROJECT_ID: the project that you want to enforce your constraint on.
      • CONSTRAINT_NAME: the name you defined for your custom constraint. For example,custom.LbTrafficExtensionDenyBodyEvents.
    3. To enforce the organization policy indry-run mode, run the following command with thedryRunSpec flag:
    4. gcloudorg-policiesset-policyPOLICY_PATH\--update-mask=dryRunSpec

      ReplacePOLICY_PATH with the full path to your organization policy YAML file. The policy requires up to 15 minutes to take effect.

    5. After you verify that the organization policy in dry-run mode works as intended, set the live policy with theorg-policies set-policy command and thespec flag:
    6. gcloudorg-policiesset-policyPOLICY_PATH\--update-mask=spec

      ReplacePOLICY_PATH with the full path to your organization policy YAML file. The policy requires up to 15 minutes to take effect.

    Test the custom organization policy

    The following example creates a custom constraint that prevents creation ofsecurity posture with DRAFT state.

    Create the constraint

    1. To define the constraint, create a file namedconstraint-active-postures.yaml with the following contents:

      name:organizations/ORGANIZATION_ID/customConstraints/custom.createActivePosturesOnlyresourceTypes:-securityposture.googleapis.com/PosturemethodTypes:-CREATE-UPDATEcondition:resource.state.contains('ACTIVE')actionType:ALLOWdisplayName:Create only ACTIVE postures.description:Create only ACTIVE postures.

      ReplaceORGANIZATION_ID with your organization ID.

    2. Apply the constraint:

      gcloudorg-policiesset-custom-constraint~/constraint-active-postures.yaml
    3. Verify that the constraint exists:

      gcloudorg-policieslist-custom-constraints--organization=ORGANIZATION_ID

      The output is similar to the following:

      CUSTOM_CONSTRAINT ACTION_TYPE  METHOD_TYPES   RESOURCE_TYPES                                   DISPLAY_NAMEcustom.Posture    ALLOW        CREATE,UPDATE  securityposture.googleapis.com/Posture           Create only ACTIVE postures.

    Create the policy

    1. Create a file namedpolicy-active-postures.yaml file with the following policy:

      name:projects/PROJECT_ID/policies/custom.createActivePosturesOnlyspec:rules:-enforce:true

      ReplacePROJECT_ID with your project ID.

    2. Apply the policy:

      gcloudorg-policiesset-policy~/policy-active-postures.yaml
    3. Verify that the policy exists:

      gcloudorg-policieslist--project=PROJECT_ID

      The output is similar to the following:

      CONSTRAINT                       LIST_POLICY    BOOLEAN_POLICY    ETAGcustom.createActivePosturesOnly  -              SET               COCsm5QGENiXi2E=

    After you apply the policy, wait for about two minutes for security posture tostart enforcing the policy.

    Test the policy

    Test the policy by creating a security posture with DRAFT state:

    gcloudsccposturescreatePOSTURE_NAME\--posture-from-file=PATH_TO_POSTURE_YAML_FILE

    Replace the following:

    • POSTURE_NAME: a unique name for the security posture
    • PATH_TO_POSTURE_YAML_FILE: the path of the posture file

    The output is similar to the following:

    ERROR: (google.cloud.securityposture.v1.SecurityPosture.CreatePosture)FAILED_PRECONDITION: Operation denied by org policy on resource'organizations/996122346870/locations/global':["customConstraints/custom.createActivePosturesOnly":"Create only ACTIVE postures."].

    Example custom organization policies for common use cases

    This table provides syntax examples for some common custom constraints.

    DescriptionConstraint syntax
    Require all security posture to have ACTIVE state
    name:organizations/ORGANIZATION_ID/customConstraints/custom.createActivePosturesOnlyresourceTypes:-securityposture.googleapis.com/PosturemethodTypes:-CREATE-UPDATEcondition:"resource.state.contains('ACTIVE')"actionType:ALLOWdisplayName:Require all security posture tohave ACTIVE statedescription:All security posture must have ACTIVE state

    Security Command Center supported resources

    The following table lists the Security Command Center resources that you can referencein custom constraints.

    ResourceField
    securityposture.googleapis.com/Postureresource.annotations
    resource.description
    resource.name
    resource.policySets.description
    resource.policySets.policies.complianceStandards.control
    resource.policySets.policies.complianceStandards.standard
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.orgPolicyConstraint.cannedConstraintId
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.orgPolicyConstraint.policyRules.allowAll
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.orgPolicyConstraint.policyRules.denyAll
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.orgPolicyConstraint.policyRules.enforce
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.orgPolicyConstraint.policyRules.parameters
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.orgPolicyConstraint.policyRules.resourceTypes.included
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.orgPolicyConstraint.policyRules.values.allowedValues
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.orgPolicyConstraint.policyRules.values.deniedValues
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.orgPolicyConstraintCustom.customConstraint.actionType
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.orgPolicyConstraintCustom.customConstraint.condition
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.orgPolicyConstraintCustom.customConstraint.description
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.orgPolicyConstraintCustom.customConstraint.displayName
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.orgPolicyConstraintCustom.customConstraint.methodTypes
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.orgPolicyConstraintCustom.customConstraint.name
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.orgPolicyConstraintCustom.customConstraint.resourceTypes
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.orgPolicyConstraintCustom.policyRules.allowAll
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.orgPolicyConstraintCustom.policyRules.denyAll
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.orgPolicyConstraintCustom.policyRules.enforce
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.orgPolicyConstraintCustom.policyRules.parameters
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.orgPolicyConstraintCustom.policyRules.resourceTypes.included
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.orgPolicyConstraintCustom.policyRules.values.allowedValues
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.orgPolicyConstraintCustom.policyRules.values.deniedValues
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.securityHealthAnalyticsCustomModule.config.customOutput.properties.name
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.securityHealthAnalyticsCustomModule.config.description
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.securityHealthAnalyticsCustomModule.config.recommendation
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.securityHealthAnalyticsCustomModule.config.resourceSelector.resourceTypes
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.securityHealthAnalyticsCustomModule.config.severity
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.securityHealthAnalyticsCustomModule.displayName
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.securityHealthAnalyticsCustomModule.moduleEnablementState
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.securityHealthAnalyticsModule.moduleEnablementState
    resource.policySets.policies.constraint.securityHealthAnalyticsModule.moduleName
    resource.policySets.policies.description
    resource.policySets.policies.policyId
    resource.policySets.policySetId
    resource.state
    securityposture.googleapis.com/PostureDeploymentresource.annotations
    resource.description
    resource.name
    resource.postureId
    resource.postureRevisionId
    resource.targetResource

    What's next

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    Last updated 2025-12-17 UTC.