GHSA-j8x2-2m5w-j939
HIGHAmazon CloudWatch Agent for Windows has Privilege Escalation Vector
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
Blast Radius
github.com/aws/amazon-cloudwatch-agentReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Go packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Impact
A privilege escalation issue exists within the Amazon CloudWatch Agent for Windows in versions up to and including v1.247354. When users trigger a repair of the Agent, a pop-up window opens with SYSTEM permissions. Users with administrative access to affected hosts may use this to create a new command prompt as NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM.
To trigger this issue, the third party must be able to access the affected host and elevate their privileges such that they’re able to trigger the agent repair process. They must also be able to install the tools required to trigger the issue.
This issue does not affect the CloudWatch Agent for macOS or Linux.
Patches
Maintainers recommend that Agent users upgrade to the latest available version of the CloudWatch Agent to address this issue.
Workarounds
There is no recommended work around. Affected users must update the installed version of the CloudWatch Agent to address this issue.
References
https://github.com/aws/amazon-cloudwatch-agent/commit/6119858864c317ff26f41f576c169148d1250837
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, contact AWS/Amazon Security via their vulnerability reporting page or directly via email to [email protected]. Please do not create a public GitHub issue.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/aws/amazon-cloudwatch-agent | all versions | 1.247355.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/aws/amazon-cloudwatch-agent. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update github.com/aws/amazon-cloudwatch-agent to 1.247355.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-j8x2-2m5w-j939 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether GHSA-j8x2-2m5w-j939 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to GHSA-j8x2-2m5w-j939. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-j8x2-2m5w-j939 in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-j8x2-2m5w-j939 across Go dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.