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Pentesting With AWS Security Agent

AWSOfficialPublished by AWS

  • Skill
  • Workflow
  • Security
  • Apache-2.0
  • No issues found

From the author

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.
— the description by AWS

AutoGineer summary

Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author

This skill provides a structured procedure for conducting active penetration tests on live web applications using the AWS Security Agent. It covers the entire lifecycle from domain registration and verification to job execution, status polling, and the retrieval of runtime findings. The workflow ensures that security testing is performed systematically, with built-in requirements for authorization and configuration management to maintain operational integrity.

What it does

  • Registers and verifies target domains for security testing
  • Initiates and manages long-running penetration test jobs
  • Polls for job status updates every 15 minutes
  • Retrieves and categorizes runtime security findings by severity
  • Generates detailed markdown reports for completed penetration tests
  • Integrates with existing configuration files to reuse verified domain settings

When to use it

  • When you need to perform an active penetration test on a live web application
  • When you need to identify runtime vulnerabilities in your application's attack surface
  • When you need to verify the status or results of an ongoing security scan
  • When you need to register a new domain for authorized security testing

Advantages

  • Automates the complex multi-step process of setting up and running a pentest
  • Ensures consistent reporting by grouping findings by severity
  • Reduces manual overhead by handling status polling and report generation
  • Promotes secure practices by requiring explicit authorization before testing

Usage examples

“Run a penetration test against my web application.”
The agent will verify the target domain, initiate the pentest job, and provide updates on the progress until findings are generated.
“Check the status of my current pentest job.”
The agent will query the status of the active job and report whether it is still in progress or completed.
“What are the findings from my latest security scan?”
The agent will list the identified vulnerabilities grouped by severity and provide a link to the full report file.

Install

  1. Download the skill as a ZIP:

    https://mp-staging.autogineer.com/agent-skills/aws/pentesting-with-aws-security-agent/download
  2. Unzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:

    mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip pentesting-with-aws-security-agent.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by AWS

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:

PlaceholderHow 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

  1. Read .security-agent/config.json. If missing → tell the user one line — "First pentest in this workspace — running setup first." — and run the setup-security-agent workflow inline before continuing.

  2. Verify agent space still exists:

    aws securityagent batch-get-agent-spaces --agent-space-ids <id>

    If missing, clear agent_space_id from config.json and run setup-security-agent again.

  3. Resolve account and role ARN from the table above.

  4. 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
  1. sleep 900 (15 minutes) between checks. Do not poll faster.

  2. Status:

    aws securityagent batch-get-pentest-jobs --agent-space-id <id> --pentest-job-ids <pj-id>
  3. Only respond when status changes or on terminal state (COMPLETED, FAILED, STOPPED).

  4. 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-pentest will fail otherwise

  • Reuse a verified target_domain_id from config.json instead 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

  • ValidationException on verify-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_PROGRESS for >24 hours → likely a backend issue or the target is unreachable. Stop and inspect.

  • AccessDenied on the service role → the service role doesn't have the network/runtime permissions a pentest needs. The default SecurityAgentScanRole is 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.

Files

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Requirements and compatibility

Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta

“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.

Needs: Needs a command-line tool

Security

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Attribution and licence

Published by
AWS
Publisher
AWS (Official)
Source
aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws · plugins/aws-agents-for-devsecops/skills/pentesting-with-aws-security-agent · commit 0a218f8
Licence
Apache License 2.0 (redistribution allowed)
  • LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE)
  • NOTICE (added by AutoGineer from NOTICE)
  • ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
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