This specific command is designed to target .
When decoded, this string translates to:
This is the #1 threat vector. Imagine a web application that fetches a URL provided by a user (e.g., a profile picture fetcher).
"eventName": "GetObject", "sourceIPAddress": "169.254.169.254", "userAgent": "curl/7.68.0", "errorCode": "AccessDenied"
If you are a : Do not run this command on a production instance unless you understand the output. Never paste the output into a public forum. If you are a Security Engineer : Search your CloudTrail logs for GetObject requests to S3 that originate from unknown IPs; they often follow a metadata token grab. If you are a Penetration Tester : This command is your first step to privilege escalation. Use it wisely and with permission. curl-url-http-3A-2F-2F169.254.169.254-2Flatest-2Fapi-2Ftoken
While convenient, this model introduced severe security vulnerabilities. If an attacker exploited a vulnerability in a web application running on the server, they could trick the application into fetching the metadata—including administrative IAM role credentials—and exfiltrate them. IMDSv2: The Session-Oriented Model
curl http://169.254.169.254/latest/api/token
: It contains sensitive configuration data, including instance IDs, network configurations, and temporary IAM security credentials assigned to the instance profile. The Evolution: IMDSv1 vs. IMDSv2
The session token cannot be retrieved from outside the instance. It stays tightly locked locally, meaning an attacker cannot request a token from their own machine and use it to attack the server remotely. Common Uses for Instance Metadata This specific command is designed to target
If the attacker supplies:
Let’s break down the obfuscation. The string curl-url-http-3A-2F-2F169.254.169.254-2Flatest-2Fapi-2Ftoken is a command.
: This specific endpoint was introduced in AWS IMDSv2. It acts as the gatekeeper, requiring a client to generate a temporary session token via an HTTP PUT request before accessing any sensitive instance metadata.
ROLE_NAME=$(curl -s -H "X-aws-ec2-metadata-token: $TOKEN" \ http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/iam/security-credentials/) curl -H "X-aws-ec2-metadata-token: $TOKEN" \ http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/iam/security-credentials/$ROLE_NAME "eventName": "GetObject", "sourceIPAddress": "169
Some older instances or custom AMIs may still have IMDSv1 only. You can check with:
: A mandatory header defining how long the token remains valid (in this case, 6 hours).
When you see this command in logs, a payload, or a URL-encoded string like ours, it means someone is .