# CVE-2026-5709: AWS Research and Engineering Studio OS command injection in session name handling

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-5707-aws-research-and-engineering-studio-os-command-injection-in  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-04-06. Updated: 2026-07-24  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-5709 · Severity: high · CVSS 8.8 · Published 2026-04-06

AWS Research and Engineering Studio (RES) is a web portal used by administrators to manage secure cloud-based research and engineering environments. A security vulnerability in how the portal handles virtual desktop session names allows an authorized user to execute malicious commands with administrative (root) privileges on the underlying host. This could lead to a complete takeover of the virtual desktop environment and unauthorized access to sensitive research data.

Technologies: [Amazon AWS](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/aws), [Amazon Engineering Studio](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/engineering-studio), [Amazon Research](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/research). Vendors: [Amazon](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/amazon).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-5709 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-5709 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-5709?** High severity, with a CVSS score of 8.8, published 6 April 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Amazon Web Services (AWS) Research and Engineering Studio (RES) <= 2025.12.01.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-5709?** A patch was published on 2026-03-26: RES version 2026.03 released Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2026-5709 attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in an operating system.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-5709?** Check whether you run Amazon AWS, Amazon Engineering Studio, Amazon Research or one of the others listed at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## Technical details

An OS command injection vulnerability exists in AWS Research and Engineering Studio (RES) versions 2025.03 through 2025.12.01. The vulnerability stems from improper neutralization of special elements within the 'session name' field. When a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) session is stopped and resumed, the system executes an AWS Systems Manager (SSM) command on the EC2 instance that includes the unsanitized session name. A remote authenticated attacker can exploit this by creating a crafted session name containing shell metacharacters to execute arbitrary commands with root privileges on the virtual desktop host. The issue is resolved in RES version 2026.03, and manual mitigation patches are available for older versions.

## Affected products

- AWS Research and Engineering Studio (RES) 2025.03 through 2025.12.01

## Identifiers

- CVE-2026-5709
- CVE-2026-5708
- CVE-2026-5707

## Timeline

- 2026-03-10: disclosed: Issue reported on GitHub repository
- 2026-03-26: patched: RES version 2026.03 released
- 2026-04-06: advisory: AWS security bulletin published

## References

- [https://aws.amazon.com/security/security-bulletins/2026-014-aws/](https://aws.amazon.com/security/security-bulletins/2026-014-aws/)
- [https://github.com/aws/res/issues/151](https://github.com/aws/res/issues/151)
- [https://github.com/aws/res/releases/tag/2026.03](https://github.com/aws/res/releases/tag/2026.03)

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