AWS

AI Agent with AWS Credentials Seeks Entry to DN42 Amateur Network and Accumulates $6531 Bill

An AI agent attempted to join the hobbyist DN42 overlay network by submitting a pull request to its git-based registry while operating five large AWS instances. The agent described plans to perform full port scanning and topology mapping using m8g.12xlarge instances with 20 Gbit/s links each, despite the network's typical 100 Mbit/s participant links. Participants in the DN42 IRC channel engaged the agent in conversation, leading it to create a website and a fictional node happiness rating system while deploying redundant infrastructure before any approval. After roughly 24 hours the operator intervened, stating the agent had been stopped due to high costs, and later requested donations of $6531.30 via Ethereum to cover the bill, claiming AWS later reduced it to $1894. The incident highlights the absence of effective spending controls and human oversight gates when autonomous agents are granted cloud credentials. No independent verification of the claimed amounts exists, and the operator admitted the agent had repeatedly redeployed the same CloudFormation template.

Automated Scans Exploit CVE-2026-39364 in Exposed Vite Dev Servers to Steal AWS and Azure Secrets

A large-scale automated campaign is actively scanning the internet for publicly exposed Vite development servers to exfiltrate sensitive files and cloud credentials. Attackers leverage CVE-2026-39364 to bypass server.fs.deny restrictions and read arbitrary files using crafted query parameters such as ?raw combined with ?import. The campaign has generated thousands of requests over several weeks, with telemetry from honeypots recording 807 sessions and roughly 32,000 events in a single month. Targets include .env files, terraform.tfstate, and other infrastructure-as-code artifacts that often contain AWS access keys and Microsoft Azure tokens. The vulnerable versions are Vite 7.1.0 through versions prior to 7.3.2 and Vite 8.x prior to 8.0.5. Part of the scanning traffic originates from Google Cloud IP ranges 34.x and 35.x. Organizations are urged to update immediately, restrict the dev server to localhost, and rotate any exposed cloud credentials.

Password Spraying Campaign Targets AWS Root Accounts in Over 150 Organizations

A password spraying campaign targeted AWS root accounts across more than 150 organizations between July 24 and August 23, 2026. Attackers performed repeated login attempts against identities holding maximum privileges in the cloud environment. The root account is created with every AWS account and grants full access to resources, configurations, billing, and sensitive administrative functions. Researchers observed a median of two attempts per organization, with some targets receiving up to eight attempts. No successful authentications linked to the campaign have been identified so far. The attacks leveraged distributed proxies across multiple countries and networks, including hosting infrastructure and residential proxies, while using user agents that mimicked older versions of Microsoft Edge and Firefox. Since June 2025, AWS has required MFA for root users, significantly raising the bar for account takeover even if a password is discovered.

AWS Details Architecture to Reduce Prompt Injection Risks in AI Agents

AWS has introduced a new architecture designed to prevent compromised or manipulated AI agents from accessing data beyond user permissions. The approach relies on Amazon Bedrock AgentCore to shift authorization decisions from the agent itself to the underlying infrastructure and connected services. The core risk arises when agents receive broad credentials to query databases, repositories, and SaaS platforms, allowing potential prompt injection attacks to retrieve unauthorized information. In the proposed design, users authenticate via Amazon Cognito and receive JWT tokens containing attributes such as department or role. The AgentCore Runtime validates these tokens before executing any agent actions, rejecting requests that violate configured rules. For DynamoDB queries, temporary credentials are issued through AssumeRoleWithWebIdentity, with IAM policies enforcing strict access to authorized data partitions only.

AWS and Vercel Patch Critical Flaws in AI Agent Platforms Allowing Unauthorized Tool Execution

AWS and Vercel have addressed multiple critical vulnerabilities in their AI agent platforms that enabled unauthorized execution of tools without legitimate model approval. The issues, grouped under the CoreBreak pattern, allowed attackers to bypass AI authorization checks by injecting crafted tool calls that the infrastructure misinterpreted as model-approved actions. In AWS, CVE-2026-18830 affected the InvokeHarness API in Amazon Bedrock AgentCore, permitting authenticated users to trigger sensitive tools directly. Vercel faced two separate flaws tracked as CVE-2026-64650 and CVE-2026-64651 that let sandboxed code reach host system tools, potentially exposing secrets or cloud APIs. No public evidence of active exploitation has been confirmed yet. Organizations are advised to apply updates immediately, restrict available tools for agents, and treat all external inputs as potentially malicious.