CVE-2023-35165Network attack vector

Cluster privilege escalation via account-root role trust

Published Jun 23, 2023 · Updated Dec 5, 2024

Incorrect authorization in AWS CDK EKS constructs before 1.202.0 or 2.80.0 allows remote authenticated users to gain elevated cluster access. The Cluster and FargateCluster constructs assign the AWS account root principal to CreationRole and default MastersRole trust policies. An in-account identity with sts:AssumeRole permission can assume those roles; MastersRole exposure also requires omission of the mastersRole property.

CVSS severity6.6
Medium
EPSS probability0.90%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Incorrect authorization in AWS CDK EKS constructs before 1.202.0 or 2.80.0 allows remote authenticated users to gain elevated cluster access. The Cluster and FargateCluster constructs assign the AWS account root principal to CreationRole and default MastersRole trust policies. An in-account identity with sts:AssumeRole permission can assume those roles; MastersRole exposure also requires omission of the mastersRole property.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-35165
Published
Jun 23, 2023
Updated
Dec 5, 2024
Vendor
Amazon Web Services
Product
AWS CDK CLI
Classifications
CWE-266, T1548.005
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 23, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Dec 5, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=@aws-cdk/aws-eks >= 1.57.0, < 1.202.0
  2. Affected versionversion=aws-cdk-lib >= 2.0.0, < 2.80.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Amazon Web Services · AWS CDK CLIversion=@aws-cdk/aws-eks >= 1.57.0, < 1.202.0; version=aws-cdk-lib >= 2.0.0, < 2.80.0

Published CVSS scores

6.6GitHub Security AdvisoryCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-266Incorrect Privilege Assignment
T1548.005Temporary Elevated Cloud Access

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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