GHSA-pp3f-98qg-5g75 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.1) Improper Input Validation vulnerability in sigs.k8s.io/aws-iam-authenticator. A fix is available for sigs.k8s.io/aws-iam-authenticator — see the affected versions and patch details below.
aws-iam-authenticator allow-listed IAM identity may be able to modify their username, escalate privileges before v0.5.9
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.
How urgent is this, really
GHSA-pp3f-98qg-5g75 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 378,567 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
sigs.k8s.io/aws-iam-authenticatorReal-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
A security issue was discovered in aws-iam-authenticator where an allow-listed IAM identity may be able to modify their username and escalate privileges.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | sigs.k8s.io/aws-iam-authenticator | all versions | 0.5.9go get sigs.k8s.io/aws-iam-authenticator@v0.5.9 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for sigs.k8s.io/aws-iam-authenticator, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update sigs.k8s.io/aws-iam-authenticator to 0.5.9 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-pp3f-98qg-5g75 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 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-pp3f-98qg-5g75 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-pp3f-98qg-5g75. 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-pp3f-98qg-5g75 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-pp3f-98qg-5g75 across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.