VulnerabilityPublished 31 Mar 2025Updated 14 Oct 2025

CVE-2025-3048: AWS Serverless Application Model Command Line Interface · UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following

Affects AWS Serverless Application Model Command Line InterfaceSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.9 Medium · fixed in 1.134.0 : update AWS Serverless Application Model Command Line Interface when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score

6.9Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 51% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 1.134.0

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Attack Requirements: None
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Active
Vulnerable system confidentiality: High
Vulnerable system integrity: None
Vulnerable system availability: None
Subsequent system confidentiality: None
Subsequent system integrity: None
Subsequent system availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable system is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed below, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed “remotely exploitable” and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: The attacker must take no measurable action to exploit the vulnerability. The attack requires no target-specific circumvention to exploit the vulnerability. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable system.
Attack Requirements: None: The successful attack does not depend on the deployment and execution conditions of the vulnerable system. The attacker can expect to be able to reach the vulnerability and execute the exploit under all or most instances of the vulnerability.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files of the vulnerable system to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: Active: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a targeted user to perform specific, conscious interactions with the vulnerable system and the attacker’s payload, or the user’s interactions would actively subvert protection mechanisms which would lead to exploitation of the vulnerability.
Vulnerable system confidentiality: High: There is a total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all information within the Vulnerable System being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact. For example, an attacker steals the administrator's password, or private encryption keys of a web server.
Vulnerable system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the Subsequent System or all confidentiality impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the Subsequent System or all integrity impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Subsequent System or all availability impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v4.0 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 31 Mar 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
AWS AWS Serverless Application Model Command Line Interface	Affected =1.9.0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

European organizations should immediately upgrade AWS SAM CLI to version 1.134.0 or later to incorporate the fix for this vulnerability. After upgrading, all serverless applications must be rebuilt using the command 'sam build --use-container' to ensure symlinks are handled correctly and cached securely. Organizations should audit their local workspace caches and build environments for any sensitive data that may have been exposed due to this vulnerability, removing or securing any such files. Implement strict access controls on developer workstations and build environments to limit unauthorized access to cached files. Incorporate security scanning and code review practices to detect improper use of symlinks or inclusion of sensitive files in serverless projects. Educate developers about the risks of symlink handling and ensure build pipelines are updated to use the patched CLI version. Consider isolating build environments using containerization or ephemeral build agents to reduce persistent local caching of sensitive data. Monitor for any unusual access patterns or insider threat indicators related to build environments. Finally, maintain awareness of AWS security advisories for any further updates or related vulnerabilities.

Description

After completing a build with AWS Serverless Application Model Command Line Interface (SAM CLI) which include symlinks, the content of those symlinks are copied to the cache of the local workspace as regular files or directories. As a result, a user who does not have access to those symlinks outside of the Docker container would now have access via the local workspace. Users should upgrade to version 1.134.0 and ensure any forked or derivative code is patched to incorporate the new fixes. After upgrading, users must re-build their applications using the sam build --use-container to update the symlinks.

Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a confidentiality risk by potentially exposing sensitive files or directories that were intended to be inaccessible outside the Docker container environment. Organizations using AWS SAM CLI version 1.9.0 in their development pipelines may inadvertently expose proprietary code, configuration files, credentials, or other sensitive data through the local workspace cache. This exposure could lead to intellectual property theft, leakage of sensitive configuration or secrets, and increased risk of lateral movement if attackers gain access to developer machines or build environments. The vulnerability does not directly impact availability or integrity but could facilitate further attacks by revealing sensitive information. Given the widespread adoption of AWS cloud services and serverless architectures in Europe, particularly in countries with strong cloud ecosystems, the risk is material for software development teams and DevOps environments. The requirement for user interaction (running the build) limits remote exploitation but insider threats or compromised developer machines could exploit this flaw. The absence of known exploits in the wild suggests limited immediate risk, but the medium severity rating warrants prompt remediation to prevent potential data exposure.

CWE-61UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following (opens in a new tab)
Compound weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighOWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product, when opening a file or directory, does not sufficiently account for when the file is a symbolic link that resolves to a target outside of the intended control sphere. This could allow an attacker to cause the product to operate on unauthorized files.
Implementation
Symbolic link attacks often occur when a program creates a tmp directory that stores files/links. Access to the directory should be restricted to the program as to prevent attackers from manipulating the files.
Architecture and Design · Separation of Privilege
Follow the principle of least privilege when assigning access rights to entities in a software system.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Leveraging Race Conditions via Symbolic Links (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 14 Oct 2025, 18:51 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-61

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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