CVE-2022-23511
Amazon CloudWatch Agent for Windows has Privilege Escalation Vector
A privilege escalation issue exists within the Amazon CloudWatch Agent for Windows, software for collecting metrics and logs from Amazon EC2 instances and on-premises servers, in versions up to and including v1.247354. When users trigger a repair of the Agent, a pop-up window opens with SYSTEM permissions. Users with administrative access to affected hosts may use this to create a new command prompt as NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM. To trigger this issue, the third party must be able to access the affected host and elevate their privileges such that they're able to trigger the agent repair process. They must also be able to install the tools required to trigger the issue. This issue does not affect the CloudWatch Agent for macOS or Linux. Agent users should upgrade to version 1.247355 of the CloudWatch Agent to address this issue. There is no recommended work around. Affected users must update the installed version of the CloudWatch Agent to address this issue.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- Low
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
A privilege escalation issue exists within the Amazon CloudWatch Agent for Windows, software for collecting metrics and logs from Amazon EC2 instances and on-premises servers, in versions up to and including v1.247354. When users trigger a repair of the Agent, a pop-up window opens with SYSTEM permissions. Users with administrative access to affected hosts may use this to create a new command prompt as NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM. To trigger this issue, the third party must be able to access the affected host and elevate their privileges such that they're able to trigger the agent repair process. They must also be able to install the tools required to trigger the issue. This issue does not affect the CloudWatch Agent for macOS or Linux. Agent users should upgrade to version 1.247355 of the CloudWatch Agent to address this issue. There is no recommended work around. Affected users must update the installed version of the CloudWatch Agent to address this issue.
- Record
CVE-2022-23511- CVSS 3.1
- 7.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:L - Weakness
- CWE-274
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2022-7662
A privilege escalation issue exists within the Amazon CloudWatch Agent for Windows, software for collecting metrics and logs from Amazon EC2 instances and on-premises servers, in versions up to and including v1.247354. When users trigger a repair of the Agent, a pop-up window opens with SYSTEM permissions. Users with administrative access to affected hosts may use this to create a new command prompt as NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM. To trigger this issue, the third party must be able to access the affected host and elevate their privileges such that they're able to trigger the agent repair process. They must also be able to install the tools required to trigger the issue. This issue does not affect the CloudWatch Agent for macOS or Linux. Agent users should upgrade to version 1.247355 of the CloudWatch Agent to address this issue. There is no recommended work around. Affected users must update the installed version of the CloudWatch Agent to address this issue.
- Record
EUVD-2022-7662- CVSS 3.1
- 7.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:L - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-j8x2-2m5w-j939
Amazon CloudWatch Agent for Windows has Privilege Escalation Vector
Impact
A privilege escalation issue exists within the Amazon CloudWatch Agent for Windows in versions up to and including v1.247354. When users trigger a repair of the Agent, a pop-up window opens with SYSTEM permissions. Users with administrative access to affected hosts may use this to create a new command prompt as NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM.
To trigger this issue, the third party must be able to access the affected host and elevate their privileges such that they’re able to trigger the agent repair process. They must also be able to install the tools required to trigger the issue.
This issue does not affect the CloudWatch Agent for macOS or Linux.
Patches
Maintainers recommend that Agent users upgrade to the latest available version of the CloudWatch Agent to address this issue.
Workarounds
There is no recommended work around. Affected users must update the installed version of the CloudWatch Agent to address this issue.
References
https://github.com/aws/amazon-cloudwatch-agent/commit/6119858864c317ff26f41f576c169148d1250837
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, contact AWS/Amazon Security via their vulnerability reporting page or directly via email to [email protected]. Please do not create a public GitHub issue.
- Record
GHSA-j8x2-2m5w-j939- CVSS 3.1
- 7.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:L - Weakness
- CWE-274
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
A privilege escalation issue exists within the Amazon CloudWatch Agent for Windows, software for collecting metrics and logs from Amazon EC2 instances and on-premises servers, in versions up to and including v1.247354. When users trigger a repair of the Agent, a pop-up window opens with SYSTEM permissions. Users with administrative access to affected hosts may use this to create a new command prompt as NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM. To trigger this issue, the third party must be able to access the affected host and elevate their privileges such that they're able to trigger the agent repair process. They must also be able to install the tools required to trigger the issue. This issue does not affect the CloudWatch Agent for macOS or Linux. Agent users should upgrade to version 1.247355 of the CloudWatch Agent to address this issue. There is no recommended work around. Affected users must update the installed version of the CloudWatch Agent to address this issue.
- Record
CVE-2022-23511- CVSS 3.1
- 7.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:L - CVSS 3.1
- 6.8 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-274
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
A privilege escalation issue exists within the Amazon CloudWatch Agent for Windows, software for collecting metrics and logs from Amazon EC2 instances and on-premises servers, in versions up to and including v1.247354. When users trigger a repair of the Agent, a pop-up window opens with SYSTEM permissions. Users with administrative access to affected hosts may use this to create a new command prompt as NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM. To trigger this issue, the third party must be able to access the affected host and elevate their privileges such that they're able to trigger the agent repair process. They must also be able to install the tools required to trigger the issue. This issue does not affect the CloudWatch Agent for macOS or Linux. Agent users should upgrade to version 1.247355 of the CloudWatch Agent to address this issue. There is no recommended work around. Affected users must update the installed version of the CloudWatch Agent to address this issue.
- Record
CVE-2022-23511- CVSS 3.1
- 7.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:L - Weakness
- CWE-274
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-j8x2-2m5w-j939
Amazon CloudWatch Agent for Windows has Privilege Escalation Vector
Impact
A privilege escalation issue exists within the Amazon CloudWatch Agent for Windows in versions up to and including v1.247354. When users trigger a repair of the Agent, a pop-up window opens with SYSTEM permissions. Users with administrative access to affected hosts may use this to create a new command prompt as NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM.
To trigger this issue, the third party must be able to access the affected host and elevate their privileges such that they’re able to trigger the agent repair process. They must also be able to install the tools required to trigger the issue.
This issue does not affect the CloudWatch Agent for macOS or Linux.
Patches
Maintainers recommend that Agent users upgrade to the latest available version of the CloudWatch Agent to address this issue.
Workarounds
There is no recommended work around. Affected users must update the installed version of the CloudWatch Agent to address this issue.
References
https://github.com/aws/amazon-cloudwatch-agent/commit/6119858864c317ff26f41f576c169148d1250837
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, contact AWS/Amazon Security via their vulnerability reporting page or directly via email to [email protected]. Please do not create a public GitHub issue.
- Record
GHSA-j8x2-2m5w-j939- CVSS 3.1
- 7.1 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:L - Weakness
- CWE-274
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGO-2022-1160 No score
Amazon CloudWatch Agent for Windows has Privilege Escalation Vector in github.com/aws/amazon-cloudwatch-agent
Amazon CloudWatch Agent for Windows has Privilege Escalation Vector in github.com/aws/amazon-cloudwatch-agent
- Record
GO-2022-1160- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
github.com/aws/amazon-cloudwatch-agentGo |
before 1.247355.0 | 1.247355.0 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2022-23511 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.1) in Amazon Cloudwatch Agent, published December 12, 2022. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.52%, the 44th percentile. Fixed in github.com/aws/amazon-cloudwatch-agent 1.247355.0.
References
github.com/aws/amazon-cloudwatch-agent/security/advisories/GHSA-j8x2-2m5w-j939
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-23511