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GHSA-999r-qq7v-r334
No affected components available
Summary
AWS CDK (aws-cdk-lib) is an open-source framework for defining cloud infrastructure in code and provisioning it through AWS CloudFormation. OS command injection in the NodejsFunction local bundling pipeline in aws-cdk-lib before 2.245.0 (2.246.0 on Windows) might allow a threat actor who controls the value of one or more bundling properties (externalModules, define, loader, inject, or esbuildArgs) to execute arbitrary commands on the host running the CDK toolchain via injected shell metacharacters. This issue requires the threat actor to control the value of one or more of the affected bundling properties in the CDK application.
Impact
During local Lambda bundling, NodejsFunction assembled an esbuild command string from the bundling properties externalModules, define, loader, inject, and esbuildArgs and executed it via a shell (bash -c on Linux/macOS, cmd /c on Windows) through spawnSync. The property values were interpolated without escaping or validation, so values containing shell metacharacters could execute arbitrary commands with the privileges of the user running cdk synth, cdk deploy, or cdk diff. Exploitation requires a threat actor to control one or more of the affected property values in the CDK application — for example via an untrusted npm dependency that vends a wrapper construct, or via a pull request that introduces untrusted values.
Impacted versions:
< 2.245.0 (on Windows, < 2.246.0)
Patches
This issue has been addressed in aws-cdk-lib version 2.245.0 (PR #37292), with a Windows-specific regression fix in 2.246.0 (PR #37412). The fix replaces shell-based command execution with array-based spawnSync invocation that does not invoke a shell. We recommend upgrading to the latest version and ensuring any forked or derivative code is patched to incorporate the new fixes.
Workarounds
Ensure the values supplied to NodejsFunction bundling properties (externalModules, define, loader, inject, esbuildArgs) originate only from trusted sources, and audit third-party constructs and pull requests that set them. Upgrading to a fixed version is the recommended remediation.
References
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, we ask that you contact AWS Security via our vulnerability reporting page or directly via email to aws-security@amazon.com. Please do not create a public GitHub issue.
Acknowledgement
AWS would like to thank the external researcher Hesham Ashraf who reported this issue through the AWS Vulnerability Disclosure Program (HackerOne) for collaborating on it through the coordinated vulnerability disclosure process.
The vulnerability requires local access to the device to be exploited. It is easy for an attacker to exploit this vulnerability. An attacker needs basic access or low-level privileges. The attacker needs the user to perform some action, like clicking a link. The impact is confined to the system where the vulnerability exists. There is a high impact on the confidentiality of the information. There is a high impact on the integrity of the data. There is a high impact on the availability of the system.
Exploitation attempts have been detected. Elevated vigilance and prompt remediation are advised.
The exploit probability is very low. The vulnerability is unlikely to be exploited in the next 30 days.
We did not find any exploit available. Neither in GitHub repositories nor in the Exploit-Database.
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