The URL http://169.254.169.254/latest/api/token appears to be related to the AWS metadata service. Specifically, this URL is used to retrieve a token that can be used to access the metadata service. The token is required to access certain metadata, such as temporary security credentials.
– A community-driven encyclopedia that explains the transition from an attacker’s perspective, showing exactly how IMDSv2 stops classic exploitation techniques. Practical Command Example curl-url-http-3A-2F-2F169.254.169.254-2Flatest-2Fapi-2Ftoken
Since then, AWS introduced IMDSv2 (which requires a PUT token first). However, many legacy applications still use IMDSv1, or they misconfigure IMDSv2. The URL http://169
curl -H "X-aws-ec2-metadata-token: <token>" http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/iam/security-credentials/role-name curl -H "X-aws-ec2-metadata-token: <token>" http://169
Your keyword corresponds to the — so the attacker is already using the more secure version, but that doesn’t stop them if they can complete the two-step process.