Callback-url-file-3a-2f-2f-2fhome-2f-2a-2f.aws-2fcredentials Exclusive (2025)

The string you provided, callback-url=file:///home/*/.aws/credentials, describes a severe Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) or Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability. It indicates that an application is being instructed to read and exfiltrate highly sensitive AWS authentication keys from the local file system. Executive Summary Vulnerability Type: Local File Inclusion (LFI) / SSRF.

• Search logs and configs for percent-encoded or decoded patterns:

  The Method: It uses the file:// protocol. If a web application has a "callback URL" or "image upload by URL" feature that isn't properly sandbox-restricted, an attacker can input this string to trick the server into reading its own internal files and sending the contents back to the attacker. Why This is "Useful" (from a Security Perspective) callback-url-file-3A-2F-2F-2Fhome-2F-2A-2F.aws-2Fcredentials

  To prevent an application from ever being able to read its own credentials via a URL: The string you provided, callback-url=file:///home/*/

  6. Required Implementation Details

  URI Parsing

  • Strip callback-url-file:// prefix.
  • Normalize path (resolve ~, *, ..).
  • Validate against allowed base directory (e.g., /home/).