---
id: "GHSA-qjx4-hg6g-2f34"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["GHSA-qjx4-hg6g-2f34"]
title: "CVE-2026-115415 - Secret masking bypass in the environment tool in Strands Agents Tools"
severity: "high"
cvss: null
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "ai-tooling"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["ai-agents", "ai-tooling", "aws", "lab-disclosure", "python", "self-hosted", "strands-agents"]
not_affected_if: ["environment-tool-not-loaded", "no-long-lived-credentials-in-env", "version-0.8.6-or-later"]
published_at: "2026-10-28T00:00:00+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-28T20:07:44+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-28T20:09:05+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "lab", "url": "https://aws.amazon.com/security/security-bulletins/rss/2026-154-aws/", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-28T20:07:44+00:00"}]
---

# CVE-2026-115415 - Secret masking bypass in the environment tool in Strands Agents Tools

The environment tool in strands-agents-tools let the LLM turn off secret masking through its tool schema. A crafted prompt in content the agent processes can make the agent return all host environment variables in cleartext, including cloud credentials and API keys.

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

## How to check

- Check the installed version with `pip show strands-agents-tools` and look for versions >= 0.1.0 and < 0.8.6.
- Check whether agents load the environment tool, for example by searching agent code for `environment` in the tools list.

## Fix

- Upgrade strands-agents-tools to `0.8.6` or later.
- Remove the environment tool from agents if you cannot upgrade now; the release also deprecates it.
- Rotate any cloud credentials and API keys that were present in the environment of agents that loaded the environment tool.
- Patch any forked or derivative code.

## Timeline

- 2026-10-28T20:07:44+00:00 lab https://aws.amazon.com/security/security-bulletins/rss/2026-154-aws/ — AWS: CVE-2026-115415 - Secret masking bypass in the environment tool in Strands Agents Tools

## Documents

- [advisory] AWS: CVE-2026-115415 - Secret masking bypass in the environment tool in Strands Agents Tools https://aws.amazon.com/security/security-bulletins/rss/2026-154-aws/

## From the sources

CVE-2026-115415 - Secret masking bypass in the environment tool in Strands Agents Tools

### CVE-2026-115415 - Secret masking bypass in the environment tool in Strands Agents Tools

Bulletin ID: 2026-154-AWS Scope: AWS Content Type: Important (requires attention) Publication Date: 10/28/2026 12:30 PM PDT

Description:

Strands Agents Tools (strands-agents-tools) is an open-source Python package of pre-built tools for the Strands Agents SDK. The environment tool lets an agent list, read, set, and delete environment variables on the agent host, and masks values that look like secrets by default. We identified CVE-2026-115415, an issue where the environment tool accepted a masking parameter from the large language model (LLM) through its tool schema. A crafted prompt, delivered through content the agent is asked to process, could instruct the model to call the tool with masking turned off. The tool would then return the agent host's environment variables in cleartext, including cloud credentials and API keys, without prompting the operator for consent.

Impacted versions: >= 0.1.0 AND < 0.8.6

Resolution:

This issue has been addressed in strands-agents-tools version 0.8.6. Masking is now controlled only by the operator, and the model can no longer disable it. The environment tool is also deprecated as of this release. We recommend upgrading to the latest version and ensuring any forked or derivative code is patched to incorporate the new fixes. We also recommend rotating any credentials that were present in the environment of agents that loaded the environment tool.

Workarounds:

If you cannot upgrade right away, remove the environment tool from your agents. Avoid running agents with long-lived cloud credentials or API keys in the process environment, and restrict outbound network access from the agent host to trusted endpoints only.

References:

- CVE-2026-115415
- GHSA-qjx4-hg6g-2f34

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

---

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