AWS patches Amazon Q Developer flaw CVE-2026-12957 that lets malicious repositories steal cloud credentials

AWS patched a flaw in Amazon Q Developer that could let a booby-trapped code repository steal a developer’s cloud credentials just by being opened in a supported development tool. Wiz said Amazon Q Developer would automatically act on workspace configuration files without user approval, enabling background command execution and credential theft from active environments; AWS assigned CVE-2026-12957 and also fixed related symbolic-link handling issue CVE-2026-12958 across VS Code, JetBrains, Eclipse, Visual Studio plugins, and the language server in version 1.65.0.
Why it matters: Developers and organizations using Amazon Q could have exposed AWS or other cloud access keys simply by opening a malicious repository, pull request, or fake coding test. Update the Amazon Q Developer plugin and ensure the language server is on 1.65.0 or later, especially where auto-update may be blocked.

Sources

Amazon Q flaw let booby-trapped Git repos execute code, swipe cloud creds
2026.06.26 98% relevant
This is the same underlying event: CVE-2026-12957 in Amazon Q Developer. The article adds The Register's summary of Wiz's findings, including that opening a repository containing a malicious .amazonq/mcp.json file could auto-execute commands via MCP in VS Code and inherit AWS credentials, API keys, tokens, and SSH agent access, and notes Amazon fixed it in language server version 1.65.0.
Amazon Q Flaw Enabled Cloud Credential Theft via Malicious Repositories
Eduard Kovacs 2026.06.26 100% relevant
This article establishes a distinct new vulnerability story centered on AWS's patch and advisory for Amazon Q Developer credential-theft flaws CVE-2026-12957 and CVE-2026-12958.
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