CVE-2026-18481Network attack vector

Administrator account takeover via dangerous participant URL

Published Jul 31, 2026 · Updated Jul 31, 2026

Stored XSS in AWS Ops Wheel before 168 allows remote authenticated users to execute script in another user's browser via a participant URL. Server-side validation checks only the participant_url value's length, then the UI passes a stored dangerous-scheme URL unsanitized to window.open() and an anchor href. A Wheel Admin or Admin must store the URL and a victim administrator must interact with the entry; the script can read Cognito tokens from localStorage and take full control of that self-deployed instance, but not the AWS account or other deployments.

CVSS severity6.2
Medium
EPSS probability0.28%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Stored XSS in AWS Ops Wheel before 168 allows remote authenticated users to execute script in another user's browser via a participant URL. Server-side validation checks only the participant_url value's length, then the UI passes a stored dangerous-scheme URL unsanitized to window.open() and an anchor href. A Wheel Admin or Admin must store the URL and a victim administrator must interact with the entry; the script can read Cognito tokens from localStorage and take full control of that self-deployed instance, but not the AWS account or other deployments.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-18481
Published
Jul 31, 2026
Updated
Jul 31, 2026
Vendor
Amazon Web Services
Product
AWS Ops Wheel
Classifications
CWE-79, T1528, T1204.001
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 31, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jul 31, 2026Record 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=0 <=PR168

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Amazon Web Services · AWS Ops Wheelversion=0 <=PR168

Published CVSS scores

6.2Amazon Web ServicesCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:N
7.3Amazon Web ServicesCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

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-79Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
T1528Steal Application Access Token
T1204.001Malicious Link

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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