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AWS

Sunday, August 23, 2026 · 8 stories, curated & summarized — click any story for the source.

Microsoft has patched a critical identity vulnerability in Entra ID rated a perfect 10 out of 10 for severity. The company acknowledged the bug is currently under active attack in the wild but declined to disclose the specific threat actors or the extent of the compromise. This disclosure highlights a high-severity identity management risk that is already being weaponized by adversaries.

  • Entra ID identity flaw rated 10/10 CVSS is actively being exploited in the wild.
  • Microsoft has released a patch but refuses to identify attackers or impact scope.
  • Immediate patching of Entra ID components is critical for cloud identity security.
  • Monitor for anomalous authentication patterns given the active exploitation status.

Security researcher Christopher Domas released skitter-creek-bath-salts, a tool that manipulates memory controller translation registers to bypass CPU privilege boundaries. This vulnerability allows unprivileged software to access protected memory regions, exposing a fundamental flaw in modern processor architectures. The exploit poses significant risks to cloud environments and confidential computing implementations.

  • Unprivileged code can now access protected memory by tweaking DRAM controller registers.
  • The exploit targets CPU privilege boundaries, undermining hardware-level isolation.
  • Cloud and confidential computing deployments face heightened security risks.
  • Researchers have released the tool for public testing and awareness.
AWS What's New awsdatabase ↺ since 08-21

ARC Region switch automates Amazon RDS Oracle Data Guard switchover

AWS has added an RDS Switchover Read Replica execution block to Application Recovery Controller (ARC) Region switch. This update automates the recovery orchestration for Amazon RDS databases using Oracle Data Guard in multi-Region setups. Previously, reversing primary and replica roles or promoting a replica required manual intervention during regional impairments. The new block enables bounded recovery times by handling these steps automatically.

  • Automates Oracle Data Guard role reversal during ARC Region switch events.
  • Reduces manual intervention for RDS failover in multi-Region architectures.
  • Enables bounded recovery times for Oracle workloads on AWS.
  • Integrates RDS recovery into broader ARC orchestration workflows.

Fleet impact: For Oracle Data Guard fleets on RDS, this eliminates manual switchover steps during regional failovers, significantly reducing RTO. Ensure your ARC Region switch plans reference this new execution block to automate the primary/replica role reversal.

HOW IT WORKSAutomated RDS Recovery Steps1ARC Region switch triggers event2Execute RDS Switchover block3Oracle Data Guard reverses roles4Replica becomes primary automatically5Bounded recovery time achieved
AWS What's New awsdatabase ↺ since 08-22

Aurora DSQL adds CloudWatch Database Insights for per-statement monitoring

Amazon Aurora DSQL now exposes a new CloudWatch Database Insights metric that provides per-statement, cluster-level performance data. This feature captures sampled wait states and normalized SQL statements for all active sessions at one-minute intervals. Practitioners can leverage these metrics via CloudWatch Database Insights, PromQL, or the Aurora DSQL system diagnostics AI skill to diagnose performance bottlenecks.

  • Monitor per-statement performance and wait states across the entire Aurora DSQL cluster.
  • Access data via CloudWatch Database Insights, PromQL, or the AI diagnostics skill.
  • Metrics are captured at one-minute intervals with no additional cost.
  • Use normalized SQL statements to identify resource-consuming queries quickly.
CHECKLISTMonitor Aurora DSQL PerformanceMonitor per-statement performance and wait statesAccess data via CloudWatch or PromQLLeverage AI diagnostics skill for insightsUse normalized SQL to find bottlenecks
AWS What's New awsdatabase ↺ since 08-21

AWS launches EC2 P6-B300 instances with 8x Blackwell Ultra GPUs in Seoul

Amazon EC2 P6-B300 instances are now available in the Asia Pacific (Seoul) Region. Each instance features 8x NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPUs providing 2.1 TB of high-bandwidth GPU memory and 6.4 Tbps EFA networking. Compared to the previous P6-B200 generation, these instances offer double the networking bandwidth and 1.5 times the GPU memory and TFLOPS performance.

  • P6-B300 instances target training and deployment of trillion-parameter foundation models.
  • Available in p6-b300.48xlarge size in the Seoul region starting today.
  • Performance gains include 2x networking bandwidth and 1.5x GPU memory over P6-B200.
  • Higher throughput supports faster training times and increased token processing.
  • Designed for AI workloads requiring sophisticated model scaling techniques.
BY THE NUMBERSThe headline number8xAWS launches EC2 P6-B300 instances with 8x Blackwell Ultra…
InfoQ generaldevops ↺ since 08-21

S3-Compatible Storage Lacks AWS Security Protections, Wiz Finds

Wiz researchers analyzed six neocloud providers offering S3-compatible object storage and found significant security gaps relative to Amazon S3. Although S3 is the industry standard, most compatible services fail to implement several critical AWS security controls. This discrepancy exposes users to higher risks when migrating workloads under the assumption of parity.

  • S3 compatibility does not ensure equivalent security postures across providers.
  • Six neoclouds examined lacked key AWS security protections identified by Wiz.
  • Assuming parity between S3 and compatible services is a dangerous operational risk.
  • Audit your vendor's security controls explicitly rather than relying on API compatibility.
The Register general ↺ since 08-22

AWS Security: Quarantining leaked credentials falls short

AWS Security is facing criticism for prioritizing the quarantine of leaked credentials over more robust remediation strategies. The current approach is viewed as insufficient for effectively mitigating the risks associated with exposed secrets. This decision highlights a gap between current security protocols and the practical needs of preventing credential misuse.

  • Quarantining alone is deemed insufficient for securing leaked credentials.
  • AWS Security faces scrutiny for this limited remediation strategy.
  • The approach may leave organizations vulnerable to credential misuse.
  • Practitioners should look beyond quarantine for effective secret protection.
The Register general ↺ since 08-21

Alibaba Cloud shifts from Western chips to boost AI margins

Alibaba Cloud is reducing reliance on Western silicon to accelerate its AI infrastructure, a move designed to protect and expand its already substantial profit margins. This strategic pivot comes as the company seeks sustained growth amid slowing performance in its core e-commerce business. The shift underscores a broader industry trend toward sovereign supply chains for high-performance computing.

  • Alibaba prioritizes AI growth to offset stagnating e-commerce revenue streams.
  • Reducing Western chip dependency aims to preserve high AI infrastructure margins.
  • Supply chain sovereignty is becoming critical for large-scale cloud AI operations.
  • Practitioners should monitor alternative silicon availability for future scaling.
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