diff --git a/test/s3/policy/bucket_policy_idempotency_test.go b/test/s3/policy/bucket_policy_idempotency_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d7432b8c5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/s3/policy/bucket_policy_idempotency_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,320 @@
+package policy
+
+// Tests for S3 bucket policy JSON round-trip idempotency.
+// These validate behavior that IaC tools (Terraform, Ansible) depend on:
+// PUT a policy, GET it back, and verify the JSON matches exactly.
+// See https://github.com/seaweedfs/seaweedfs/issues/8657
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go/aws"
+	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go/aws/awserr"
+	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go/aws/credentials"
+	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go/aws/session"
+	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go/service/s3"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+func waitForClusterReady(t *testing.T, s3Client *s3.S3) {
+	t.Helper()
+	// ListBuckets is a lightweight call that confirms the S3 API is serving.
+	_, err := s3Client.ListBuckets(&s3.ListBucketsInput{})
+	require.NoError(t, err, "S3 endpoint not ready")
+}
+
+func newS3ClientForCluster(t *testing.T, cluster *TestCluster) *s3.S3 {
+	t.Helper()
+	sess, err := session.NewSession(&aws.Config{
+		Region:           aws.String("us-east-1"),
+		Endpoint:         aws.String(cluster.s3Endpoint),
+		DisableSSL:       aws.Bool(true),
+		S3ForcePathStyle: aws.Bool(true),
+		Credentials:      credentials.NewStaticCredentials("admin", "admin", ""),
+	})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	return s3.New(sess)
+}
+
+// TestBucketPolicyRoundTrip verifies that GetBucketPolicy returns exactly what
+// was submitted via PutBucketPolicy, without adding spurious fields like
+// "NotResource": null. This is the core issue from #8657.
+func TestBucketPolicyRoundTrip(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("Skipping integration test in short mode")
+	}
+
+	cluster, err := startMiniCluster(t)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	defer cluster.Stop()
+
+	s3Client := newS3ClientForCluster(t, cluster)
+	waitForClusterReady(t, s3Client)
+	bucket := uniqueName("policy-rt")
+
+	_, err = s3Client.CreateBucket(&s3.CreateBucketInput{Bucket: aws.String(bucket)})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		name   string
+		policy map[string]interface{}
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "simple allow without NotResource",
+			policy: map[string]interface{}{
+				"Version": "2012-10-17",
+				"Statement": []interface{}{
+					map[string]interface{}{
+						"Sid":       "AllowPublicRead",
+						"Effect":    "Allow",
+						"Principal": "*",
+						"Action":    "s3:GetObject",
+						"Resource":  "arn:aws:s3:::" + bucket + "/*",
+					},
+				},
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "multiple actions without NotResource",
+			policy: map[string]interface{}{
+				"Version": "2012-10-17",
+				"Statement": []interface{}{
+					map[string]interface{}{
+						"Sid":       "ReadWrite",
+						"Effect":    "Allow",
+						"Principal": "*",
+						"Action":    []interface{}{"s3:GetObject", "s3:PutObject"},
+						"Resource":  "arn:aws:s3:::" + bucket + "/*",
+					},
+				},
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "allow with NotResource",
+			policy: map[string]interface{}{
+				"Version": "2012-10-17",
+				"Statement": []interface{}{
+					map[string]interface{}{
+						"Sid":         "AllowOutsidePublic",
+						"Effect":      "Allow",
+						"Principal":   "*",
+						"Action":      "s3:GetObject",
+						"NotResource": "arn:aws:s3:::" + bucket + "/private/*",
+					},
+				},
+			},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "multiple statements with NotResource",
+			policy: map[string]interface{}{
+				"Version": "2012-10-17",
+				"Statement": []interface{}{
+					map[string]interface{}{
+						"Sid":       "AllowRead",
+						"Effect":    "Allow",
+						"Principal": "*",
+						"Action":    "s3:GetObject",
+						"Resource":  "arn:aws:s3:::" + bucket + "/*",
+					},
+					map[string]interface{}{
+						"Sid":         "DenyPrivateObjects",
+						"Effect":      "Deny",
+						"Principal":   "*",
+						"Action":      "s3:GetObject",
+						"NotResource": "arn:aws:s3:::" + bucket + "/public/*",
+					},
+				},
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			policyJSON, err := json.Marshal(tc.policy)
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+
+			_, err = s3Client.PutBucketPolicy(&s3.PutBucketPolicyInput{
+				Bucket: aws.String(bucket),
+				Policy: aws.String(string(policyJSON)),
+			})
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+
+			getOut, err := s3Client.GetBucketPolicy(&s3.GetBucketPolicyInput{
+				Bucket: aws.String(bucket),
+			})
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+			require.NotNil(t, getOut.Policy)
+
+			// The returned policy must not contain fields that were not submitted.
+			// This is the exact issue from #8657: NotResource:null was being added.
+			returnedJSON := *getOut.Policy
+			var returnedPolicy map[string]interface{}
+			require.NoError(t, json.Unmarshal([]byte(returnedJSON), &returnedPolicy))
+			if !hasKey(tc.policy, "NotResource") {
+				require.False(t, hasKey(returnedPolicy, "NotResource"),
+					"returned policy must not contain NotResource when it was not submitted")
+			}
+
+			// Semantic comparison of all submitted fields
+			require.JSONEq(t, string(policyJSON), returnedJSON,
+				"GET should return semantically identical policy to what was PUT")
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// TestBucketPolicyIdempotentPut verifies that putting the same policy twice
+// does not change the returned value — the behavior IaC tools rely on.
+func TestBucketPolicyIdempotentPut(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("Skipping integration test in short mode")
+	}
+
+	cluster, err := startMiniCluster(t)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	defer cluster.Stop()
+
+	s3Client := newS3ClientForCluster(t, cluster)
+	waitForClusterReady(t, s3Client)
+	bucket := uniqueName("policy-idem")
+
+	_, err = s3Client.CreateBucket(&s3.CreateBucketInput{Bucket: aws.String(bucket)})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	policyJSON := `{
+		"Version": "2012-10-17",
+		"Statement": [{
+			"Sid": "AllowRead",
+			"Effect": "Allow",
+			"Principal": "*",
+			"Action": "s3:GetObject",
+			"Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::` + bucket + `/*"
+		}]
+	}`
+
+	// PUT, then GET, then PUT the returned value, then GET again.
+	// Both GETs should return the same result.
+	_, err = s3Client.PutBucketPolicy(&s3.PutBucketPolicyInput{
+		Bucket: aws.String(bucket),
+		Policy: aws.String(policyJSON),
+	})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	getOut1, err := s3Client.GetBucketPolicy(&s3.GetBucketPolicyInput{
+		Bucket: aws.String(bucket),
+	})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// Re-PUT the policy that was returned by GET (what Terraform does on update)
+	_, err = s3Client.PutBucketPolicy(&s3.PutBucketPolicyInput{
+		Bucket: aws.String(bucket),
+		Policy: getOut1.Policy,
+	})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	getOut2, err := s3Client.GetBucketPolicy(&s3.GetBucketPolicyInput{
+		Bucket: aws.String(bucket),
+	})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	require.JSONEq(t, *getOut1.Policy, *getOut2.Policy,
+		"re-PUTting the GET result must produce identical output (idempotency)")
+}
+
+// TestBucketPolicyDeleteAndRecreate verifies clean lifecycle.
+func TestBucketPolicyDeleteAndRecreate(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("Skipping integration test in short mode")
+	}
+
+	cluster, err := startMiniCluster(t)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	defer cluster.Stop()
+
+	s3Client := newS3ClientForCluster(t, cluster)
+	waitForClusterReady(t, s3Client)
+	bucket := uniqueName("policy-del")
+
+	_, err = s3Client.CreateBucket(&s3.CreateBucketInput{Bucket: aws.String(bucket)})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	policyJSON := `{
+		"Version": "2012-10-17",
+		"Statement": [{
+			"Effect": "Allow",
+			"Principal": "*",
+			"Action": "s3:GetObject",
+			"Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::` + bucket + `/*"
+		}]
+	}`
+
+	// PUT
+	_, err = s3Client.PutBucketPolicy(&s3.PutBucketPolicyInput{
+		Bucket: aws.String(bucket),
+		Policy: aws.String(policyJSON),
+	})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// DELETE
+	_, err = s3Client.DeleteBucketPolicy(&s3.DeleteBucketPolicyInput{
+		Bucket: aws.String(bucket),
+	})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// GET should fail with NoSuchBucketPolicy
+	_, err = s3Client.GetBucketPolicy(&s3.GetBucketPolicyInput{
+		Bucket: aws.String(bucket),
+	})
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	awsErr, ok := err.(awserr.Error)
+	require.True(t, ok, "expected AWS error, got %T: %v", err, err)
+	require.Equal(t, "NoSuchBucketPolicy", awsErr.Code())
+
+	// Re-PUT same policy
+	_, err = s3Client.PutBucketPolicy(&s3.PutBucketPolicyInput{
+		Bucket: aws.String(bucket),
+		Policy: aws.String(policyJSON),
+	})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// GET should succeed and be clean
+	getOut, err := s3Client.GetBucketPolicy(&s3.GetBucketPolicyInput{
+		Bucket: aws.String(bucket),
+	})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	var recreatedPolicy map[string]interface{}
+	require.NoError(t, json.Unmarshal([]byte(*getOut.Policy), &recreatedPolicy))
+	require.False(t, hasKey(recreatedPolicy, "NotResource"),
+		"recreated policy must not contain spurious NotResource")
+}
+
+// hasKey checks whether any Statement in the policy map contains the given key.
+// Handles both single-statement objects and arrays of statements.
+func hasKey(policy map[string]interface{}, key string) bool {
+	stmtsRaw, ok := policy["Statement"]
+	if !ok {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	// Single statement object
+	if stmt, ok := stmtsRaw.(map[string]interface{}); ok {
+		_, exists := stmt[key]
+		return exists
+	}
+
+	// Array of statements
+	if stmts, ok := stmtsRaw.([]interface{}); ok {
+		for _, s := range stmts {
+			stmt, ok := s.(map[string]interface{})
+			if !ok {
+				continue
+			}
+			if _, exists := stmt[key]; exists {
+				return true
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	return false
+}
+
diff --git a/weed/credential/filer_etc/filer_etc_policy_test.go b/weed/credential/filer_etc/filer_etc_policy_test.go
index 12f0ed796..ebf340770 100644
--- a/weed/credential/filer_etc/filer_etc_policy_test.go
+++ b/weed/credential/filer_etc/filer_etc_policy_test.go
@@ -320,7 +320,7 @@ func testPolicyDocument(action string, resource string) policy_engine.PolicyDocu
 			{
 				Effect:   policy_engine.PolicyEffectAllow,
 				Action:   policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice(action),
-				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice(resource),
+				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlicePtr(resource),
 			},
 		},
 	}
diff --git a/weed/credential/test/policy_test.go b/weed/credential/test/policy_test.go
index 28fa2c619..226d1e98e 100644
--- a/weed/credential/test/policy_test.go
+++ b/weed/credential/test/policy_test.go
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ func testPolicyOperations(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, credentialManager *
 			{
 				Effect:   policy_engine.PolicyEffectAllow,
 				Action:   policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice("s3:GetObject"),
-				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice("arn:aws:s3:::test-bucket/*"),
+				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlicePtr("arn:aws:s3:::test-bucket/*"),
 			},
 		},
 	}
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ func testPolicyOperations(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context, credentialManager *
 			{
 				Effect:   policy_engine.PolicyEffectAllow,
 				Action:   policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice("s3:GetObject", "s3:PutObject"),
-				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice("arn:aws:s3:::test-bucket/*"),
+				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlicePtr("arn:aws:s3:::test-bucket/*"),
 			},
 		},
 	}
diff --git a/weed/iamapi/iamapi_management_handlers.go b/weed/iamapi/iamapi_management_handlers.go
index d1d7487f8..28654c0ca 100644
--- a/weed/iamapi/iamapi_management_handlers.go
+++ b/weed/iamapi/iamapi_management_handlers.go
@@ -459,7 +459,7 @@ func (iama *IamApiServer) GetUserPolicy(s3cfg *iam_pb.S3ApiConfiguration, values
 			for i, statement := range policyDocument.Statement {
 				// Use order-independent comparison to avoid duplicates from different action orderings
 				if stringSlicesEqual(statement.Action.Strings(), actions) {
-					policyDocument.Statement[i].Resource = policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice(append(
+					policyDocument.Statement[i].Resource = policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlicePtr(append(
 						policyDocument.Statement[i].Resource.Strings(), resource)...)
 					isEqAction = true
 					break
@@ -471,7 +471,7 @@ func (iama *IamApiServer) GetUserPolicy(s3cfg *iam_pb.S3ApiConfiguration, values
 			policyDocumentStatement := policy_engine.PolicyStatement{
 				Effect:   policy_engine.PolicyEffectAllow,
 				Action:   policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice(actions...),
-				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice(resource),
+				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlicePtr(resource),
 			}
 			policyDocument.Statement = append(policyDocument.Statement, policyDocumentStatement)
 		}
diff --git a/weed/iamapi/iamapi_management_handlers_test.go b/weed/iamapi/iamapi_management_handlers_test.go
index c135ded6d..507631f46 100644
--- a/weed/iamapi/iamapi_management_handlers_test.go
+++ b/weed/iamapi/iamapi_management_handlers_test.go
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ func TestGetActionsUserPath(t *testing.T) {
 			{
 				Effect:   policy_engine.PolicyEffectAllow,
 				Action:   policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice("s3:Put*", "s3:PutBucketAcl", "s3:Get*", "s3:GetBucketAcl", "s3:List*", "s3:Tagging*", "s3:DeleteBucket*"),
-				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice("arn:aws:s3:::shared/user-Alice/*"),
+				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlicePtr("arn:aws:s3:::shared/user-Alice/*"),
 			},
 		},
 	}
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ func TestGetActionsWildcardPath(t *testing.T) {
 			{
 				Effect:   policy_engine.PolicyEffectAllow,
 				Action:   policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice("s3:Get*", "s3:PutBucketAcl"),
-				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice("arn:aws:s3:::*"),
+				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlicePtr("arn:aws:s3:::*"),
 			},
 		},
 	}
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ func TestGetActionsInvalidAction(t *testing.T) {
 			{
 				Effect:   policy_engine.PolicyEffectAllow,
 				Action:   policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice("s3:InvalidAction"),
-				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice("arn:aws:s3:::shared/user-Alice/*"),
+				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlicePtr("arn:aws:s3:::shared/user-Alice/*"),
 			},
 		},
 	}
@@ -278,7 +278,7 @@ func TestGetPolicy(t *testing.T) {
 			{
 				Effect:   policy_engine.PolicyEffectAllow,
 				Action:   policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice("s3:GetObject"),
-				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice("arn:aws:s3:::*"),
+				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlicePtr("arn:aws:s3:::*"),
 			},
 		},
 	}
@@ -323,7 +323,7 @@ func TestDeletePolicy(t *testing.T) {
 			{
 				Effect:   policy_engine.PolicyEffectAllow,
 				Action:   policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice("s3:GetObject"),
-				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice("arn:aws:s3:::*"),
+				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlicePtr("arn:aws:s3:::*"),
 			},
 		},
 	}
@@ -371,7 +371,7 @@ func TestListPolicies(t *testing.T) {
 			{
 				Effect:   policy_engine.PolicyEffectAllow,
 				Action:   policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice("s3:GetObject"),
-				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice("arn:aws:s3:::*"),
+				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlicePtr("arn:aws:s3:::*"),
 			},
 		},
 	}
@@ -399,7 +399,7 @@ func TestAttachUserPolicy(t *testing.T) {
 			{
 				Effect:   policy_engine.PolicyEffectAllow,
 				Action:   policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice("s3:GetObject"),
-				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice("arn:aws:s3:::*"),
+				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlicePtr("arn:aws:s3:::*"),
 			},
 		},
 	}
@@ -459,7 +459,7 @@ func TestManagedPolicyActionsPreservedAcrossInlineMutations(t *testing.T) {
 			{
 				Effect:   policy_engine.PolicyEffectAllow,
 				Action:   policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice("s3:GetObject"),
-				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice("arn:aws:s3:::*"),
+				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlicePtr("arn:aws:s3:::*"),
 			},
 		},
 	}
@@ -514,7 +514,7 @@ func TestDetachUserPolicy(t *testing.T) {
 			{
 				Effect:   policy_engine.PolicyEffectAllow,
 				Action:   policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice("s3:GetObject"),
-				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice("arn:aws:s3:::*"),
+				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlicePtr("arn:aws:s3:::*"),
 			},
 		},
 	}
diff --git a/weed/s3api/auth_credentials_test.go b/weed/s3api/auth_credentials_test.go
index 7438cce83..1e84b93db 100644
--- a/weed/s3api/auth_credentials_test.go
+++ b/weed/s3api/auth_credentials_test.go
@@ -619,7 +619,7 @@ func TestLoadS3ApiConfigurationFromCredentialManagerHydratesInlinePolicies(t *te
 			{
 				Effect:   policy_engine.PolicyEffectAllow,
 				Action:   policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice("s3:PutObject"),
-				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice("arn:aws:s3:::test-bucket/*"),
+				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlicePtr("arn:aws:s3:::test-bucket/*"),
 			},
 		},
 	}
@@ -673,7 +673,7 @@ func TestLoadS3ApiConfigurationFromCredentialManagerHydratesInlinePoliciesThroug
 			{
 				Effect:   policy_engine.PolicyEffectAllow,
 				Action:   policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice("s3:PutObject"),
-				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice("arn:aws:s3:::test-bucket/*"),
+				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlicePtr("arn:aws:s3:::test-bucket/*"),
 			},
 		},
 	}
diff --git a/weed/s3api/policy_engine/integration.go b/weed/s3api/policy_engine/integration.go
index 8790bed90..d1d36d02a 100644
--- a/weed/s3api/policy_engine/integration.go
+++ b/weed/s3api/policy_engine/integration.go
@@ -382,7 +382,7 @@ func convertSingleAction(action string) (*PolicyStatement, error) {
 	return &PolicyStatement{
 		Effect:   PolicyEffectAllow,
 		Action:   NewStringOrStringSlice(s3Actions...),
-		Resource: NewStringOrStringSlice(resources...),
+		Resource: NewStringOrStringSlicePtr(resources...),
 	}, nil
 }
 
@@ -615,7 +615,7 @@ func CreatePolicyFromLegacyIdentity(identityName string, actions []string) (*Pol
 			Sid:      fmt.Sprintf("%s-%s", identityName, strings.ReplaceAll(resourcePattern, "/", "-")),
 			Effect:   PolicyEffectAllow,
 			Action:   NewStringOrStringSlice(s3Actions...),
-			Resource: NewStringOrStringSlice(resources...),
+			Resource: NewStringOrStringSlicePtr(resources...),
 		}
 
 		statements = append(statements, statement)
diff --git a/weed/s3api/policy_engine/types.go b/weed/s3api/policy_engine/types.go
index abb129596..766294ee3 100644
--- a/weed/s3api/policy_engine/types.go
+++ b/weed/s3api/policy_engine/types.go
@@ -82,8 +82,11 @@ func (s StringOrStringSlice) MarshalJSON() ([]byte, error) {
 	return json.Marshal(s.values)
 }
 
-// Strings returns the slice of strings
-func (s StringOrStringSlice) Strings() []string {
+// Strings returns the slice of strings. Nil-safe for pointer receivers.
+func (s *StringOrStringSlice) Strings() []string {
+	if s == nil {
+		return nil
+	}
 	return s.values
 }
 
@@ -92,6 +95,11 @@ func NewStringOrStringSlice(values ...string) StringOrStringSlice {
 	return StringOrStringSlice{values: values}
 }
 
+// NewStringOrStringSlicePtr creates a new *StringOrStringSlice from strings
+func NewStringOrStringSlicePtr(values ...string) *StringOrStringSlice {
+	return &StringOrStringSlice{values: values}
+}
+
 // PolicyConditions represents policy conditions with proper typing
 type PolicyConditions map[string]map[string]StringOrStringSlice
 
@@ -138,8 +146,8 @@ type PolicyStatement struct {
 	Effect      PolicyEffect         `json:"Effect"`
 	Principal   *StringOrStringSlice `json:"Principal,omitempty"`
 	Action      StringOrStringSlice  `json:"Action"`
-	Resource    StringOrStringSlice  `json:"Resource,omitempty"`
-	NotResource StringOrStringSlice  `json:"NotResource,omitempty"`
+	Resource    *StringOrStringSlice `json:"Resource,omitempty"`
+	NotResource *StringOrStringSlice `json:"NotResource,omitempty"`
 	Condition   PolicyConditions     `json:"Condition,omitempty"`
 }
 
@@ -296,8 +304,16 @@ func compileStatement(stmt *PolicyStatement) (*CompiledStatement, error) {
 	}
 
 	// Deep clone Resource/NotResource into the internal statement as well for completeness
-	compiled.Statement.Resource.values = slices.Clone(stmt.Resource.values)
-	compiled.Statement.NotResource.values = slices.Clone(stmt.NotResource.values)
+	if stmt.Resource != nil {
+		resourceClone := *stmt.Resource
+		resourceClone.values = slices.Clone(stmt.Resource.values)
+		compiled.Statement.Resource = &resourceClone
+	}
+	if stmt.NotResource != nil {
+		notResourceClone := *stmt.NotResource
+		notResourceClone.values = slices.Clone(stmt.NotResource.values)
+		compiled.Statement.NotResource = &notResourceClone
+	}
 	compiled.Statement.Action.values = slices.Clone(stmt.Action.values)
 
 	// Deep clone Condition map
@@ -448,6 +464,8 @@ func normalizeToStringSliceWithError(value interface{}) ([]string, error) {
 		return result, nil
 	case StringOrStringSlice:
 		return v.Strings(), nil
+	case *StringOrStringSlice:
+		return v.Strings(), nil
 	default:
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unexpected type for policy value: %T", v)
 	}
diff --git a/weed/s3api/s3api_bucket_policy_handlers.go b/weed/s3api/s3api_bucket_policy_handlers.go
index 9ffb45ced..f8cdea153 100644
--- a/weed/s3api/s3api_bucket_policy_handlers.go
+++ b/weed/s3api/s3api_bucket_policy_handlers.go
@@ -317,9 +317,11 @@ func (s3a *S3ApiServer) validateBucketPolicy(policyDoc *policy_engine.PolicyDocu
 		}
 
 		// Validate NotResources refer to this bucket
-		for _, notResource := range statement.NotResource.Strings() {
-			if !s3a.validateResourceForBucket(notResource, bucket) {
-				return fmt.Errorf("statement %d: NotResource %s does not match bucket %s", i, notResource, bucket)
+		if statement.NotResource != nil {
+			for _, notResource := range statement.NotResource.Strings() {
+				if !s3a.validateResourceForBucket(notResource, bucket) {
+					return fmt.Errorf("statement %d: NotResource %s does not match bucket %s", i, notResource, bucket)
+				}
 			}
 		}
 
diff --git a/weed/s3api/s3api_embedded_iam.go b/weed/s3api/s3api_embedded_iam.go
index 4dc3d420c..8a817e8ab 100644
--- a/weed/s3api/s3api_embedded_iam.go
+++ b/weed/s3api/s3api_embedded_iam.go
@@ -898,7 +898,7 @@ func (e *EmbeddedIamApi) GetUserPolicy(s3cfg *iam_pb.S3ApiConfiguration, values
 			for i, statement := range policyDocument.Statement {
 				// Use order-independent comparison to avoid duplicates from different action orderings
 				if iamStringSlicesEqual(statement.Action.Strings(), actions) {
-					policyDocument.Statement[i].Resource = policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice(append(
+					policyDocument.Statement[i].Resource = policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlicePtr(append(
 						policyDocument.Statement[i].Resource.Strings(), resource)...)
 					isEqAction = true
 					break
@@ -910,7 +910,7 @@ func (e *EmbeddedIamApi) GetUserPolicy(s3cfg *iam_pb.S3ApiConfiguration, values
 			policyDocumentStatement := policy_engine.PolicyStatement{
 				Effect:   policy_engine.PolicyEffectAllow,
 				Action:   policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice(actions...),
-				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice(resource),
+				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlicePtr(resource),
 			}
 			policyDocument.Statement = append(policyDocument.Statement, policyDocumentStatement)
 		}
diff --git a/weed/s3api/s3api_embedded_iam_test.go b/weed/s3api/s3api_embedded_iam_test.go
index 5ad18db8a..817e6e285 100644
--- a/weed/s3api/s3api_embedded_iam_test.go
+++ b/weed/s3api/s3api_embedded_iam_test.go
@@ -504,7 +504,7 @@ func TestEmbeddedIamAttachUserPolicyRefreshesIAM(t *testing.T) {
 			{
 				Effect:   policy_engine.PolicyEffectAllow,
 				Action:   policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice("s3:GetObject"),
-				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlice("arn:aws:s3:::bucket/*"),
+				Resource: policy_engine.NewStringOrStringSlicePtr("arn:aws:s3:::bucket/*"),
 			},
 		},
 	}