A single config file in a cloned repository could steal your AWS credentials through Amazon Q Developer
TL;DR
A flaw in Amazon Q Developer auto-loaded rogue MCP servers from cloned repos, letting attackers steal AWS credentials silently.
A high-severity flaw in Amazon Q Developer allowed a malicious code repository to silently execute commands on a developer’s machine and steal their AWS credentials. Wiz Research discovered the vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-12957, and reported it to Amazon on April 20. Amazon patched the issue on May 12, and the disclosure went public today.
The attack exploited how Amazon Q Developer handles MCP servers, a protocol that lets AI coding assistants connect to external tools and data sources. A configuration file placed inside a repository would automatically register and start an attacker-controlled MCP server the moment a developer cloned the project, with no prompt or consent step. That server inherited the developer’s full AWS credentials, IAM role, and any other environment variables available to the IDE plugin.
Wiz researchers demonstrated...
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