Vulnerability · Published Aug 28, 2026 · Assigned by AMZN

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

High 8.8

In plain English

A high-severity security flaw in amazon-ssm-agent from amazon. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.9% (higher than 60% of all known vulnerabilities).

Severity (CVSS 3.1)8.8High

Exploit odds (30 days)0.9%top 40.2% of all CVEs

Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none

Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

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.

Affected products (as reported)

Vendor	Product	Versions
amazon	amazon-ssm-agent	0 – before 3.3.4515.0

Weakness: CWE-23 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

References

https://github.com/aws/amazon-ssm-agent/releases/tag/3.3.4515.0 patch, release-notes
https://aws.amazon.com/security/security-bulletins/2026-091-aws/ vendor-advisory