# CVE-2026-82860: @hulumi/policies versions before 1.3.2 fail to fully inspect inline and attached IAM policy evidence for the administrator-policy guardrail.

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-82860-hulumi-policies-cis-1-16-admin-policy-bypass-in-iam-policy  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-08-31. Updated: 2026-09-25  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-82860 · Severity: critical · CVSS 9.8 · Published 2026-08-31

@hulumi/policies is a library that validates AWS IAM policies against CIS Benchmark standards. Versions before 1.3.2 failed to properly inspect inline and attached IAM policies when enforcing administrator-policy guards, allowing policies with administrator-equivalent permissions to incorrectly pass validation checks. This could enable unauthorized users to gain elevated access through policies that should have been rejected.

Technologies: [@hulumi/policies (npm)](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/hulumi-policies). Vendors: [npm](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/npm).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-82860 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-82860 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-82860?** Critical severity, with a CVSS score of 9.8, published 31 August 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** @hulumi/policies (npm) SEMVER:introduced=0,fixed=1.3.2.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-82860?** Yes. @hulumi/policies (npm): upgrade to 1.3.2 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2026-82860 attacked?** It is attacked over the network.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-82860?** Check whether you run @hulumi/policies (npm) 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.

## How to fix

- @hulumi/policies (npm): upgrade to 1.3.2 or later

  ```sh
  npm install @hulumi/policies@1.3.2
  ```


## Technical details

The vulnerability is a privilege management bypass (CWE-269) in @hulumi/policies, a policy validation library for AWS IAM. The validator component failed to fully inspect inline and attached IAM policy shapes when evaluating the CIS 1.16 administrator-policy guardrail, allowing admin-equivalent policies to pass validation checks. The attack requires no authentication or user interaction—an attacker can craft IAM policies that contain administrative permissions but are structured in ways the validator fails to detect, allowing these policies to be deployed. This permits attackers to gain unauthorized administrative access to AWS resources. The vulnerability was patched in version 1.3.2 with enhanced policy shape inspection and regression testing.

## Affected products

- hulumi @hulumi/policies < 1.3.2

## Identifiers

- CVE-2026-82860
- GHSA-4xrh-5m3m-328w

## Timeline

- 2026-05-21: disclosed: Vulnerability published as GHSA-4xrh-5m3m-328w
- 2026-05-21: patched: Fix released in version 1.3.2

## References

- [https://github.com/kerberosmansour/hulumi/security/advisories/GHSA-4xrh-5m3m-328w](https://github.com/kerberosmansour/hulumi/security/advisories/GHSA-4xrh-5m3m-328w)
- [https://github.com/kerberosmansour/hulumi](https://github.com/kerberosmansour/hulumi)

## Related threats

- [@hulumi/policies SecureBucket parent spoof bypass](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-82861-hulumi-policies-securebucket-parent-spoof-bypass)
- [@hulumi/policies GitHub OIDC trust policy bypass via set-qualified condition operators](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-82856-hulumi-policies-github-oidc-trust-policy-bypass-via-set-qualified)
- [@hulumi/policies protection mechanism bypass in validators](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-82855-hulumi-policies-protection-mechanism-bypass-in-validators)
- [kerberosmansour Hulumi security policy bypass via decoy sibling resources](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-48034-kerberosmansour-hulumi-security-policy-bypass-via-decoy-sibling)
- [kerberosmansour Hulumi policy bypass via forged Pulumi-URN logical name](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-48033-kerberosmansour-hulumi-policy-bypass-via-forged-pulumi-urn)