"Parameter values specified for a template which does not require them." when trying to deploy a conformance pack via AWS cloudformation

Question

I am working on a proof of concept for deploying a conformance pack via AWS cloudformation and I am stumped by the error "Parameter values specified for a template which does not require them." The config rule I am using does require a parameter. Code is attached. I have also tested the template with cfn-lint and do not receive any feedback/errors.

My template is "simple" and below:

Parameters:
  ElbPredefinedSecurityPolicySslCheckParamPredefinedPolicyName:
    Default: ELBSecurityPolicy-2016-08
    Type: String
Resources:
  TestingConformancePack:
    Type: AWS::Config::ConformancePack
    Properties:
      ConformancePackName: TestCP
      ConformancePackInputParameters:
      -
        ParameterName: PredefinedPolicyName
        ParameterValue: !Ref ElbPredefinedSecurityPolicySslCheckParamPredefinedPolicyName
      TemplateBody: |
        Resources:
          ElbPredefinedSecurityPolicySslCheck:
            Properties:
              ConfigRuleName: elb-predefined-security-policy-ssl-check
              InputParameters:
                predefinedPolicyName:
                  Ref: ElbPredefinedSecurityPolicySslCheckParamPredefinedPolicyName
              Scope:
                ComplianceResourceTypes:
                - AWS::ElasticLoadBalancing::LoadBalancer
              Source:
                Owner: AWS
                SourceIdentifier: ELB_PREDEFINED_SECURITY_POLICY_SSL_CHECK
            Type: AWS::Config::ConfigRule

Answer 1

The cause is that you are passing a parameter (the one specified in ConformancePackInputParameters ) to a CloudFormation template (the one specified in TemplateBody ) that does not contain a Parameters section and therefore expects no parameters. To solve this, you need to add a parameter to the inner CloudFormation template, which you can then refer to in predefinedPolicyName :

The following template works for me:

Parameters:
  ElbPredefinedSecurityPolicySslCheckParamPredefinedPolicyName:
    Default: ELBSecurityPolicy-2016-08
    Type: String
Resources:
  TestingConformancePack:
    Type: AWS::Config::ConformancePack
    Properties:
      ConformancePackName: TestCP
      ConformancePackInputParameters:
      -
        ParameterName: PredefinedPolicyName
        ParameterValue: !Ref ElbPredefinedSecurityPolicySslCheckParamPredefinedPolicyName
      TemplateBody: |
        Parameters:
          PredefinedPolicyName:
            Type: String
        Resources:
          ElbPredefinedSecurityPolicySslCheck:
            Properties:
              ConfigRuleName: elb-predefined-security-policy-ssl-check
              InputParameters:
                predefinedPolicyName:
                  Ref: PredefinedPolicyName
              Scope:
                ComplianceResourceTypes:
                - AWS::ElasticLoadBalancing::LoadBalancer
              Source:
                Owner: AWS
                SourceIdentifier: ELB_PREDEFINED_SECURITY_POLICY_SSL_CHECK
            Type: AWS::Config::ConfigRule

Answer 2

I was making a test case resource using cloudformation and stumbled upon this same error. “Parameter values specified for a template which does not require them.”

Since it was a test case, I didn't use any parameters at all. The above answer was helpful for me to understand it has to do something with parameters. Even though you are not using any, there are some parameters passed while deploying the cfn.

By default, cloudformation also sends env as parameter which needs to come under parameters as such. (Below code snippet in JSON)

"Parameters": {
        "env": {
            "Type": "String"
        }
    },

Hope this was helpful.