Documented incidentPublished 2025-07-23Amazon Web ServicesEngineering postmortem

Malicious code committed to the Amazon Q Developer VS Code extension via a compromised token (AWS, 2025)

Malicious code was committed to the extension's open-source repository using a compromised GitHub token in a build configuration.

What happened

  • AWS said the payload did not execute because of a syntax error, so no environments were changed.Security Update for Amazon Q Developer Extension for Visual Studio Code (Version 1.84)
  • AWS revoked the credentials, removed the code, withdrew version 1.84.0 and released version 1.85.0.Security Update for Amazon Q Developer Extension for Visual Studio Code (Version 1.84)

The failure pattern

Weak or phishable authentication on a privileged pathA password, an SMS code or a help-desk reset is all that stands between an attacker and admin access.How to prevent it Privileged action without an enforceable approval gateLimits and approvals live in a prompt, a UI checkbox or a convention instead of code the automation cannot bypass.How to prevent it
Watch the pattern: Weak or phishable authentication on a privileged path

Safeguards that address it

CollectSEA's engineering analysis of what would have prevented or contained this failure.

  • Protect build credentials and require review for releasesKeep repository tokens out of build configuration and require reviewed, protected branches for release code.
  • Verify release contents before publishingDiff release artifacts against reviewed source and scan for unexpected instructions or scripts.

Related standards

CollectSEA's mapping through this incident's failure pattern; not an official determination by the standards bodies.

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