CVE-2026-81849 HIGH

CVE-2026-81849: Path traversal in the aws:downloadContent plugin in amazon-ssm-agent

Vendor Amazon
Product amazon-ssm-agent
Weakness CWE-23
Published August 28, 2026
Last update August 28, 2026

CVSS base score

8.7/10
Attack vector Network
Attack complexity Low
Privileges required Low
User interaction None
Confidentiality
Integrity

CVSS vector

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

What the vulnerability does

01Description

Improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory in the aws:downloadContent plugin in amazon-ssm-agent before 3.3.4515.0 might allow an authenticated remote user whose ssm:SendCommand permission is restricted to the AWS-DownloadContent document, to write arbitrary files outside the intended download directory with root privileges, via crafted object keys in the S3 source the document is directed to retrieve. This issue may lead to arbitrary code execution as root if specific sensitive files are overwritten. To remediate this issue, customers should upgrade amazon-ssm-agent to version 3.3.4515.0 or later.

Key dates

02Disclosure timeline

August 28, 2026 CVE published

Related vulnerabilities

04Related CVE