---
id: "CVE-2026-119085"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-119085"]
title: "Improper neutralization of special elements used in a template engine in the publishing component of Amazon Virtual\u2026"
severity: "critical"
cvss: 9.4
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "infrastructure"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["aws", "cloudformation", "infrastructure", "lab-disclosure", "lambda", "virtual-engineering-workbench"]
not_affected_if: ["commit-c146486-or-later", "no-untrusted-product-version-writers"]
published_at: "2026-11-02T18:18:44+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-11-02T18:03:13+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-11-02T18:24:24+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "lab", "url": "https://aws.amazon.com/security/security-bulletins/rss/2026-162-aws/", "first_seen_at": "2026-11-02T18:03:13+00:00"}, {"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-119085", "first_seen_at": "2026-11-02T18:24:24+00:00"}]
---

# Improper neutralization of special elements used in a template engine in the publishing component of Amazon Virtual…

Virtual Engineering Workbench's publishing component fails to neutralize template directives in CloudFormation template bodies submitted through the product versioning API. An authenticated remote user can run arbitrary code with the publishing Lambda's IAM role, reaching data and resources across tenant projects.

_Summary, check and fix written by a model from the sources; labelled as such._

## How to check

- Check whether your deployment of Virtual Engineering Workbench includes commit `c146486` (PR #31, merged 2026-05-04) or later.
- Review which users can create or update product versions in the workbench.

## Fix

- Redeploy Virtual Engineering Workbench from the latest version of the main branch, at or after commit `c146486`.
- Patch any forked or derivative code to incorporate the fix.

## Timeline

- 2026-11-02T18:03:13+00:00 lab https://aws.amazon.com/security/security-bulletins/rss/2026-162-aws/ — AWS: CVE-2026-119085 - Template injection in the publishing component of Virtual Engineering Workbench
- 2026-11-02T18:24:24+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-119085

## Documents

- [fix] Patch: github.com https://github.com/awslabs/virtual-engineering-workbench/commit/c146486cec41f5b04fae57e9ce1a7fb40e695615
- [mentions] AWS: CVE-2026-119085 - Template injection in the publishing component of Virtual Engineering Workbench https://aws.amazon.com/security/security-bulletins/rss/2026-162-aws/

## From the sources

CVE-2026-119085 - Template injection in the publishing component of Virtual Engineering Workbench

### CVE-2026-119085 - Template injection in the publishing component of Virtual Engineering Workbench

Bulletin ID: 2026-162-AWS Scope: AWS Content Type: Important (requires attention) Publication Date: 11/02/2026 09:30 AM PST

Description:

Virtual Engineering Workbench (VEW) is an open-source platform where platform engineers define and publish development environments, and developers provision them on demand through a web portal. We identified CVE-2026-119085, where improper neutralization of special elements used in a template engine in the publishing component of Amazon Virtual Engineering Workbench (VEW) could allow a remote authenticated third party to run arbitrary code with the permissions of the publishing Lambda's IAM role. This could allow access to data and resources across all tenant projects. The code is reachable through a crafted CloudFormation template body containing template engine directives submitted through the product versioning API.

Impacted versions: All commits before c146486 (PR #31, merged 2026-05-04)

Resolution:

This issue has been addressed in commit c146486 (PR #31). We recommend redeploying from the latest version of the main branch and ensuring any forked or derivative code is patched to incorporate the new fixes.

Workarounds:

There is no workaround that removes the issue. Until you redeploy, you can reduce impact by limiting which users can create or update product versions.

References:

- CVE-2026-119085

Acknowledgement:

We would like to thank Trung Nguyen of CyStack for collaborating on this issue through the coordinated vulnerability disclosure process.

 Please email aws-security@amazon.com with any security questions or concerns.

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_Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai_