Cannot create or delete Lambda functions, or attach S3 triggers even with root account

Question

Hello community,

I’ve been facing a critical issue in my AWS account (standalone, not under an AWS Organization). For several days now, I’ve been unable to create new Lambda functions, delete existing ones, or associate S3 triggers. I’ve tried everything I could think of, with no luck:

What I’ve already verified / tried:
I’m using the root account (arn:aws:iam::[my-account-id]:root, verified via aws sts get-caller-identity).
I can create/delete S3 buckets and objects without any issues.
The IAM role AWSServiceRoleForLambda is missing, and when I attempt to create it via:
aws iam create-service-linked-role --aws-service-name lambda.amazonaws.com
It returns the error:
An error occurred (AccessDenied) when calling the CreateServiceLinkedRole operation: Cannot find Service Linked Role template for lambda.amazonaws.com
I’ve tried this across multiple activated regions (us-west-1, us-east-1, sa-east-1, etc.).
I created a new IAM user with AdministratorAccess permissions and configured its credentials correctly in the CLI — same issue occurs.
In the AWS Console, when accessing Lambda, I get:
“Access denied. You don’t have permission to perform this action. UnknownError” (screenshot attached).
Checked AWS Organizations — I am NOT part of any organization, and no SCPs are applied.
STS is enabled for all the necessary regions.

My suspicion
It seems like the account is internally blocked from creating the required service-linked role for Lambda. Without this role, Lambda cannot perform any operations.
My question
What could be blocking Lambda from functioning, even under the root account?
Is there a deeper setting or account-level issue preventing Lambda from creating its required service-linked role?
And is there any way to fix this if I don’t have access to paid AWS Support?

Any guidance or similar experience would be greatly appreciated 🙏
Thanks in advance!

re:Post Agent · Answer

This issue of not being able to access or manage Lambda functions as a root user and encountering "Access denied" and "UnknownError" messages is not uncommon. Based on your description, there are several potential causes:

1. There might be an ongoing issue or outage with Lambda in your region. It's worth checking the AWS Service Health Dashboard to see if there are any reported problems.

2. Your account may have experienced a temporary block due to a suspected malicious access attempt. This can cause functions to become temporarily inaccessible, even for the root user.

3. There could be an underlying account-specific issue that's preventing Lambda operations.

Since you've already verified that you're using the root account, tried multiple regions, and confirmed you're not part of an AWS Organization with SCPs, the most effective solution would be to contact AWS Support directly. Even without a paid support plan, you can open a support case under the "Account and billing" category, which can be done free of charge.

While waiting for a response from AWS Support, you might try:
- Clearing your browser's cache or accessing in an incognito window
- Using a different browser or device to rule out any local issues
- Checking if the issue persists after changing your root account password

In some cases, these issues resolve themselves after a few hours, as there might be temporary service disruptions that aren't always reflected on the service health dashboard.  
**Sources**  
[Root User - Lambda Functions are Gone! | AWS re:Post](https://repost.aws/questions/QUVtJWhdHhSWuA1kSs6zJSWQ/root-user-lambda-functions-are-gone)  
[Access denied in creating lambda function | AWS re:Post](https://repost.aws/questions/QUpG34oLIDQPq6TSCLNI9B1w/access-denied-in-creating-lambda-function)  
[Lambda function  creation  permission Denied ,  in Dashboard | AWS re:Post](https://repost.aws/questions/QUUDbeQZ4mSzO3cN30rmenGg/lambda-function-creation-permission-denied-in-dashboard)  
[Failed to create Lambda function simply withe the error message "The role defined for the function cannot be assumed by Lambda" | AWS re:Post](https://repost.aws/questions/QUdidGpf9JSPGv14XLGefIFQ/failed-to-create-lambda-function-simply-withe-the-error-message-the-role-defined-for-the-function-cannot-be-assumed-by-lambda)

Cannot create or delete Lambda functions, or attach S3 triggers even with root account

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