Security Issues in Amazon Q Developer Code

Amazon Q may generate IAM policies with wildcards (Resource: '*') that are broader than necessary. Lambda functions may have environment variables containing sensitive values that are visible in the AWS console. Generated API Gateway configurations may lack authentication or authorization. S3 buckets created by CDK may have overly permissive bucket policies

Apply least privilege to all IAM policies — enumerate specific resource ARNs instead of using wildcards. Store sensitive configuration in Secrets Manager and retrieve it at runtime, not as environment variables. Enable API Gateway authorizers on all endpoints that require authentication. Enable S3 bucket versioning, access logging, and block all public access unless explicitly needed

Every Amazon Q Developer app needs authentication — verifying who the user is — and authorization — verifying what they're allowed to do. Check that every API route and server action verifies the user's identity before processing requests. Check that users can only access their own data. A common Amazon Q Developer pattern is adding auth to the UI but not the API, which means anyone with the endpoint URL can access data directly.

Never trust data coming from the client. Every form submission, URL parameter, and API request body should be validated server-side before processing. Use a schema validation library like Zod to define expected shapes and reject anything that doesn't match. This prevents injection attacks, data corruption, and unexpected crashes.

Configure security headers to protect against common web attacks: Content-Security-Policy to prevent XSS, Strict-Transport-Security to enforce HTTPS, X-Frame-Options to prevent clickjacking, and X-Content-Type-Options to prevent MIME sniffing. Most hosting platforms let you configure these in a headers file or configuration.

If your app handles user data, processes payments, or stores sensitive information, a professional security review is essential before launch. Our security scan ($19) checks for the most critical vulnerabilities, and our full security review service provides a comprehensive assessment with remediation guidance.