pentesting-with-aws-security-agent
Run an AWS Security Agent penetration test against a live web application — registers and verifies the target domain, exercises the supplied endpoints with the managed Security Agent service, and returns verified runtime findings. Use when the user asks to pentest, run a penetration test, test their app's attack surface, find runtime vulnerabilities, register or verify a target domain, or check pentest status / findings.
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Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws --skill pentesting-with-aws-security-agent- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads pentesting-with-aws-security-agent automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
AWS Security Agent — Penetration Test
This skill handles pentest setup, execution, and findings. Initial Security Agent setup (agent space, role, bucket) is handled by the setup-security-agent skill — if .security-agent/config.json is missing, the pentest workflow auto-runs setup inline first.
Pentests are slow (1-24 hours) and active — they probe a real running app. Always confirm the user is authorized to test the target before starting.
Resolving the values you need
The CLI examples below use placeholders. Resolve them at the start of every pentest:
| Placeholder | How to resolve |
|---|---|
<id> (agent space) | config.agent_space_id |
<region> | config.region (default us-east-1) |
<account> | aws sts get-caller-identity --query Account --output text (cache for the rest of the turn) |
<role-arn> | arn:aws:iam::<account>:role/SecurityAgentScanRole |
<td-id> | targetDomainId returned by create-target-domain (cache under config.target_domains[<domain>]) |
<pentest-id> | pentestId returned by create-pentest |
<pj-id> | pentestJobId returned by start-pentest-job |
Pre-pentest checks
-
Read
.security-agent/config.json. If missing → tell the user one line — "First pentest in this workspace — running setup first." — and run thesetup-security-agentworkflow inline before continuing. -
Verify agent space still exists:
aws securityagent batch-get-agent-spaces --agent-space-ids <id>If missing, clear
agent_space_idfromconfig.jsonand runsetup-security-agentagain. -
Resolve account and role ARN from the table above.
-
Authorization check: ask the user "Do you own or have explicit permission to pentest
<target>?" if it's not obvious from context. Do not proceed without confirmation.
Workflow
1. Register target domain (one-time per domain)
aws securityagent create-target-domain --agent-space-id <id> \
--target-domain-name <domain> --verification-method HTTP_ROUTE
The response includes a verification token / route. Tell the user what to put on their server (typically a .well-known/... file or HTTP route returning a token), then:
aws securityagent verify-target-domain --agent-space-id <id> --target-domain-id <td-id>
Persist the verified target_domain_id in .security-agent/config.json under target_domains: { "<domain>": "<td-id>" } so future pentests can reuse it.
2. Create a pentest
Ask the user for:
- Title (no spaces — use hyphens; default
pentest-<timestamp>) - Endpoints to test (one or more URIs under the verified domain)
aws securityagent create-pentest --agent-space-id <id> --title <title> \
--service-role <role-arn> \
--assets endpoints=[{uri=https://example.com/api/login},{uri=https://example.com/api/upload}]
Capture pentestId.
3. Start the pentest job
aws securityagent start-pentest-job --agent-space-id <id> --pentest-id <pentest-id>
Capture pentestJobId. Append to .security-agent/pentests.json (create as [] if it doesn't exist yet — the directory itself is already created by setup):
{
"pentest_id": "p-...",
"pentest_job_id": "pj-...",
"agent_space_id": "as-...",
"title": "pentest-...",
"endpoints": ["https://..."],
"started_at": "2026-06-01T20:00:00Z",
"status": "IN_PROGRESS"
}
Tell user: "Pentest started ({pentest_job_id}). Pentests typically run 1-24 hours depending on scope. I'll check every 15 minutes — say 'stop polling' to opt out."
4. Polling loop
-
sleep 900(15 minutes) between checks. Do not poll faster. -
Status:
aws securityagent batch-get-pentest-jobs --agent-space-id <id> --pentest-job-ids <pj-id> -
Only respond when
statuschanges or on terminal state (COMPLETED,FAILED,STOPPED). -
On
COMPLETED→ run the Findings workflow.
5. Findings
aws securityagent list-findings --agent-space-id <id> --pentest-job-id <pj-id>
If nextToken is returned, call again with --next-token <token> until empty.
aws securityagent batch-get-findings --agent-space-id <id> --finding-ids <id1> <id2> ...
Present in chat grouped by severity (same icons + format as code scans):
🟣 CRITICAL: {name}
Endpoint: {endpoint}
{description}
Write a full report to .security-agent/pentest-{pentest_job_id}.md with every field returned (findingId, name, description, riskLevel, riskType, confidence, status, endpoint, request/response samples if present, and remediationCode if present).
Tell user: "Full details written to .security-agent/pentest-{pentest_job_id}.md"
6. Stop a pentest
aws securityagent stop-pentest-job --agent-space-id <id> --pentest-job-id <pj-id>
Rules
- Always confirm authorization to test the target before starting
- Verify the target domain before creating a pentest —
create-pentestwill fail otherwise - Reuse a verified
target_domain_idfromconfig.jsoninstead of re-verifying - Pentest titles must not contain spaces — use hyphens
- Poll every 15 minutes max — pentests are long-running
- Don't auto-restart a failed pentest — show the failure to the user first
Troubleshooting
ValidationExceptiononverify-target-domain→ the verification route isn't responding correctly yet. Ask user to confirm the route is live and serving the expected token.target domain not verified→ run verify-target-domain (step 1) again.- Pentest stuck in
IN_PROGRESSfor >24 hours → likely a backend issue or the target is unreachable. Stop and inspect. AccessDeniedon the service role → the service role doesn't have the network/runtime permissions a pentest needs. The defaultSecurityAgentScanRoleis for code scans only — pentests against AWS resources may need broader permissions. Direct user to the AWS Security Agent console to configure a pentest-specific role.
FAQ
What does the pentesting-with-aws-security-agent skill do?
Run an AWS Security Agent penetration test against a live web application — registers and verifies the target domain, exercises the supplied endpoints with the managed Security Agent service, and returns verified runtime findings. Use when the user asks to pentest, run a penetration test, test their app's attack surface, find runtime vulnerabilities, register or verify a target domain, or check pentest status / findings.
How do I install pentesting-with-aws-security-agent?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws --skill pentesting-with-aws-security-agent in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/pentesting-with-aws-security-agent/ (personal) or .claude/skills/pentesting-with-aws-security-agent/ (project).
Which AI agents can use pentesting-with-aws-security-agent?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is pentesting-with-aws-security-agent safe to install?
No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.
Who maintains pentesting-with-aws-security-agent?
It is published by aws in aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws, and it is an official skill from the maker of the technology it covers. It has 1,536 recorded installs.
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