--- title: Security Vulnerabilities in Amazon Q Developer: Data... description: Security vulnerabilities were discovered in Amazon Q Developer for VS Code that allowed remote code execution and data theft through invisible Unicode prompt... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/security-vulnerabilities-in-amazon-q-developer-data-exfiltration-and-remote-code-execution-n75kkuc44 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Security Vulnerabilities in Amazon Q Developer: Data Exfiltration and Remote Code Execution | daily.dev og:description: Security vulnerabilities were discovered in Amazon Q Developer for VS Code that allowed remote code execution and data theft through invisible Unicode prompt... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/security-vulnerabilities-in-amazon-q-developer-data-exfiltration-and-remote-code-execution-n75kkuc44 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/N75kKUC44.png og:image:alt: Security Vulnerabilities in Amazon Q Developer: Data Exfiltration and Remote Code Execution og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Security Vulnerabilities in Amazon Q Developer: Data Exfiltration and Remote Code Execution **[Collections](https://daily.dev/sources/collections)** · 2 min read · 2 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Security vulnerabilities were discovered in Amazon Q Developer for VS Code that allowed remote code execution and data theft through invisible Unicode prompt injection attacks. Attackers could embed hidden characters in code comments to execute unauthorized commands, bypass user consent for certain operations like 'find' with '-exec' flag, and exfiltrate API keys via DNS requests. AWS patched these issues in August 2025 but chose not to issue public CVEs, arguing the vulnerabilities required deliberately malicious code to exploit. ## Content Amazon Q Developer for Visual Studio Code, an AI-powered extension, was recently found to have significant security vulnerabilities. These included invisible prompt injection attacks leveraging Unicode Tag characters and exploitable permission models, which allowed for remote code execution and data exfiltration. Security researcher Johann Rehberger demonstrated how these vulnerabilities could lead to API key leaks via DNS requests and execution of arbitrary commands without user approval. Malicious actors could embed invisible Unicode characters in seemingly innocuous text, causing the underlying Claude AI model to interpret them as executable instructions. Furthermore, certain commands like 'ping' didn’t require user confirmation, facilitating unauthorized data exfiltration through malicious code comments. Another critical vulnerability involved the 'find' command's '-exec' flag, previously classified as 'readonly', bypassing consent requirements, and enabling remote code execution. This flaw allowed attackers to potentially download and execute malware or even create AI viruses. Despite the significant risks, AWS decided not to issue public advisories or CVEs, reasoning that the vulnerabilities required deliberately malicious code for exploitation. As of August 8, 2025, AWS has patched these vulnerabilities, reclassifying risky commands such as 'find' to ensure they now prompt for user confirmation, thereby strengthening the security model. This update affects over one million users, yet AWS maintains the vulnerabilities do not meet their criteria for public disclosure. ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Don’t just attend KubeCon \+ CloudNativeCon, Merge Forward your experience\!](https://daily.dev/posts/don-t-just-attend-kubecon-cloudnativecon-merge-forward-your-experience--l0rpp73x8) · CNCF · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Announcing H2 2026 KCDs](https://daily.dev/posts/announcing-h2-2026-kcds-m96goajm1) · CNCF · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Two months of Open Community Groups](https://daily.dev/posts/two-months-of-open-community-groups-asf52zhbs) · CNCF · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [CNCF Unveils Schedule for KubeCon \+ CloudNativeCon Europe 2026](https://daily.dev/posts/cncf-unveils-schedule-for-kubecon-cloudnativecon-europe-2026-ikhcoa5cb) · CNCF · 2 upvotes · 0 comments - [CNCF Debuts KubeCon \+ CloudNativeCon Japan 2026 Schedule](https://daily.dev/posts/cncf-debuts-kubecon-cloudnativecon-japan-2026-schedule-xp5pyudub) · CNCF · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#security](https://daily.dev/tags/security), [#vulnerability](https://daily.dev/tags/vulnerability), [#vscode](https://daily.dev/tags/vscode), [#prompt-injection](https://daily.dev/tags/prompt-injection), [#amazon-q](https://daily.dev/tags/amazon-q) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/security-vulnerabilities-in-amazon-q-developer-data-exfiltration-and-remote-code-execution-n75kkuc44) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Security Vulnerabilities in Amazon Q Developer: Data Exfiltration and Remote Code Execution","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/security-vulnerabilities-in-amazon-q-developer-data-exfiltration-and-remote-code-execution-n75kkuc44","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/security-vulnerabilities-in-amazon-q-developer-data-exfiltration-and-remote-code-execution-n75kkuc44"},"datePublished":"2025-08-20T00:02:09.097Z","dateModified":"2025-08-20T21:08:43.437Z","description":"Security vulnerabilities were discovered in Amazon Q Developer for VS Code that allowed remote code execution and data theft through invisible Unicode prompt...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/a9e00f620dcf8e4f3891c93e916ce35e?_a=AQAEulh","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/a9e00f620dcf8e4f3891c93e916ce35e?_a=AQAEulh","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Collections","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Collections","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--fk_6ycEi--/f_auto,q_auto/v1780996001/logos/collections?_a=BAMAMiWQ0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/collections"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/security-vulnerabilities-in-amazon-q-developer-data-exfiltration-and-remote-code-execution-n75kkuc44","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":2},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"security,vulnerability,vscode,prompt-injection,amazon-q","timeRequired":"PT2M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Collections","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/collections"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Security Vulnerabilities in Amazon Q Developer: Data Exfiltration and Remote Code Execution"}]} ```