Disabled SSH host key verification in Amazon AWS CLI EMR helper commands
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- High
- Attack requirements
- Present
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · None
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 4 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA, GitHub and Red Hat.
Summary
Key exchange without entity authentication in the EMR SSH helper commands in Amazon AWS CLI before 1.45.28 and AWS CLI v2 before 2.35.3 might allow man-in-the-middle attackers to intercept SSHsessions and file transfers via network positioning between the client and the EMR cluster endpoint. To remediate this issue, users should upgrade to AWS CLI v1 1.45.28 or later, or AWS CLI v2 2.35.3 or later.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWS | aws-cli | up to 1.45.27; up to 2.35.2 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
| — | awscli (PyPI) | before 1.45.28 | 1.45.28 | Patch available | GHSA-hqvf-45jj-mccq |
- aws-cli VendorAWS Affected up to 1.45.27; up to 2.35.2 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
- awscli (PyPI) Vendor— Affected before 1.45.28 Fixed in 1.45.28 Patch available GHSA-hqvf-45jj-mccq
Remediation
- Fix · GHSA-hqvf-45jj-mccq awscli (PyPI) Fixed in 1.45.28 Advisory →
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Hardened Images
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-18654
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-hqvf-45jj-mccq
References
Patch 2
Advisory 3
More Aws Command Line Interface vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-11609 Overly permissive File Permissions in AWS CLI CVSS 4.0MEDIUM 6.8
Sources
- CVE-2026-18654 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-18654 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-hqvf-45jj-mccq · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-18654 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences