🛡️ CVE-2025-23206 — aws-cdk-lib
Description
AWS Cloud Development Kit (AWS CDK) IAM OIDC custom resource allows connection to unauthorized OIDC provider
Impact
Users who use IAM OIDC custom resource provider package will download CA Thumbprints as part of the custom resource workflow, https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/blob/d16482fc8a4a3e1f62751f481b770c09034df7d2/packages/%40aws-cdk/custom-resource-handlers/lib/aws-iam/oidc-handler/external.ts#L34.
However, the current tls.connect method will always set rejectUnauthorized: false which is a potential security concern. CDK should follow the best practice and set rejectUnauthorized: true. However, this could be a breaking change for existing CDK applications and we should fix this with a feature flag.
Note that this is marked as low severity Security advisory because the issuer url is provided by CDK users who define the CDK application. If they insist on connecting to a unauthorized OIDC provider, CDK should not disallow this. Additionally, the code block is run in a Lambda environment which mitigate the MITM attack.
As a best practice, CDK should still fix this issue under a feature flag to avoid regression.
```
packages/@aws-cdk/custom-resource-handlers/lib/aws-iam/oidc-handler/external.ts
❯❱ problem-based-packs.insecure-transport.js-node.bypass-tls-verification.bypass-tls-verification
Checks for setting the environment variable NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED to 0, which disables TLS
verification. This should only be used for debugging purposes. Setting the option rejectUnauthorized
to false bypasses verification against the list of trusted CAs, which also leads to insecure
transport.
```
Patches
The patch is in progress. To mitigate, upgrade to CDK v2.177.0 (Expected release date 2025-02-22).
Once upgraded, please make sure the feature flag '@aws-cdk/aws-iam:oidcRejectUnauthorizedConnections' is set to true in cdk.context.json or cdk.json. More details on feature flag setting is [here](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cdk/v2/guide/featureflags.html).
Workarounds
N/A
References
https://github.com/aws/aws-cdk/issues/32920
How this vulnerability can be exploited
This issue can be reached over the network, attack complexity is low, an attacker needs low-level privileges on the target. No user interaction is required. The scope is unchanged, so the impact stays within the vulnerable component. Rated impact: confidentiality high, integrity high, availability none.
Weakness class
CVE-2025-23206 is classified as CWE-347: Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature. A signature is not checked correctly, so forged or modified content is accepted as genuine.
Affected software
CVE-2025-23206 is recorded against 2 packages.
- aws-cdk-lib
- aws-cloud-development-kit (fixed in 2.177.0)
Timeline and source
Published on 17 January 2025 and last revised on 29 January 2025. No public exploit is currently recorded for this entry. Record sourced from NVD.
References
github.com (Web)
nvd.nist.gov (Advisory)
github.com (Web)
github.com (Web)
github.com (Web)
docs.aws.amazon.com (Web)
github.com (Package)
github.com (Web)
github.com (Web)
Details
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Affected Packages
| Software | From version | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| aws-cdk-lib | — | — |
| aws-cloud-development-kit | — | 2.177.0 |
References
Similar Threats
- Low GHSA-464c-974j-9xm6
- High CVE-2026-13760
- High CVE-2026-11417
- Low GHSA-qc59-cxj2-c2w4
- Unknown GHSA-qq4x-c6h6-rfxh
Site Security Check
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