Unsanitized control of user-modifiable attributes in the session creation component in AWS Research and Engineering Studio (RES) prior to version 2026
Description
Unsanitized control of user-modifiable attributes in the session creation component in AWS Research and Engineering Studio (RES) prior to version 2026
AI Analyst Comment
Remediation
Apply vendor security updates immediately. Monitor for exploitation attempts and review access logs.
---METADATA---
VENDOR: Amazon Web Services
PRODUCT: Research and Engineering Studio (RES)
AFFECTED_VERSIONS: 2023.11 through 2025.12.01
CONFIDENCE: high
MISSING: none
SOURCES_JSON: [{"url":"https://github.com/aws/res/releases/tag/2026.03","name":null,"tags":["release-notes"]},{"url":"https://github.com/aws/res/issues/149","name":null,"tags":["patch"]},{"url":"https://aws.amazon.com/security/security-bulletins/2026-014-aws/","name":null,"tags":["vendor-advisory"]}]
PROFILE: batch@eb21ac00f78b
MODEL: gemini-3.1-flash-lite
GENERATED: 2026-08-29T13:56:41.243Z
---END_METADATA---
Description Summary:
AWS Research and Engineering Studio is vulnerable to improper control of session attributes, allowing authenticated users to escalate privileges and interact with AWS resources.
Executive Summary:
An authenticated remote attacker can exploit a flaw in AWS Research and Engineering Studio to gain unauthorized access to host instance permissions and AWS service resources.
Vulnerability Details
CVE-ID: CVE-2026-5708
Affected Software: Amazon Web Services Research and Engineering Studio (RES)
Affected Versions: 2023.11 through 2025.12.01
Vulnerability: The application fails to sanitize user-modifiable attributes during session creation, which is classified as CWE-915 (Improperly controlled modification of Dynamically-Determined object attributes). This allows an authenticated user to perform privilege escalation and assume the identity of the virtual desktop host instance profile.
Business Impact
The exploitation of this vulnerability poses a significant risk to the integrity and confidentiality of the cloud environment. By assuming the host instance profile permissions, an attacker can move laterally within the AWS infrastructure, potentially accessing sensitive data or disrupting critical research workflows. Given the CVSS score of 8.8, this vulnerability is considered High severity and demands immediate attention to prevent unauthorized cloud resource manipulation.
Remediation Plan
Immediate Action: Upgrade the AWS Research and Engineering Studio (RES) environment to version 2026.03 or apply the vendor-provided patch as detailed in the official AWS security bulletin.
Proactive Monitoring: Audit AWS CloudTrail logs for unusual API calls originating from RES sessions, specifically looking for unauthorized attempts to assume or modify IAM roles and instance profiles.
Compensating Controls: Implement strict IAM policies that adhere to the principle of least privilege for the RES instance profiles, limiting the potential impact if a session is compromised.
Exploitation Status
Public Exploit Available: Unknown
Analyst Notes: As of April 8, 2026, there is no public information indicating active exploitation or a public proof-of-concept for this vulnerability. The flaw is technically significant because it bridges the gap between application-level access and cloud-infrastructure-level permissions.
Analyst Recommendation
Due to the potential for full privilege escalation within the AWS environment, administrators should prioritize this update. Ensure that all affected RES deployments are patched to version 2026.03 immediately to neutralize the risk of unauthorized resource interaction.