{
  "schemaVersion": 1,
  "methodology": "https://ionbin.com/interfaces/methodology/#evaluations",
  "evaluation": {
    "id": "aws-cli",
    "testedOn": "2026-10-18",
    "coverage": "local-runtime",
    "summary": "The CLI parsed an unsigned synthetic S3 response from localhost, applied a query and rejected a malformed bucket name before any request. No AWS account or IAM policy was exercised.",
    "identity": {
      "version": "2.38.1 (bundled Python 3.14.6)",
      "target": "Official AWS CLI v2 Windows MSI, extracted as a local administrative image",
      "integrity": "SHA-256 ad07f9acd855f48ad016e63b2f0b4f87783c1b6524b86e966f4a6d21d01f524a of the official downloaded aws.msi artifact. Windows Authenticode returned Valid for Amazon Web Services, Inc."
    },
    "environment": [
      "Windows 11 x64; Python 3.12.10 harness. Raw timestamps UTC.",
      "Fresh per-tool home/config/cache; child environment constructed from OS/runtime paths, explicit isolation variables and no inherited credentials. Synthetic fixtures only; no user account sign-in.",
      "AWS_EC2_METADATA_DISABLED=true; explicit empty config/credentials files; no-sign-request used only for synthetic localhost fixture."
    ],
    "checks": [
      {
        "id": "aws-cli-version-rerun",
        "name": "Downloaded version",
        "method": "<evaluation>\\downloads\\cli\\aws\\Amazon\\AWSCLIV2\\aws.exe --version",
        "expected": "Print the extracted CLI version.",
        "observed": "Exit 0. aws-cli/2.38.1 Python/3.14.6 Windows/11 exe/AMD64",
        "outcome": "pass"
      },
      {
        "id": "aws-cli-loopback-list-rerun",
        "name": "Read and query a synthetic S3 response",
        "method": "<evaluation>\\downloads\\cli\\aws\\Amazon\\AWSCLIV2\\aws.exe s3api list-buckets --no-sign-request --endpoint-url http://127.0.0.1:57373 --query Buckets[].Name --output json",
        "expected": "Return exactly the fixture bucket name.",
        "observed": "Exit 0. JSON was [\"ionbin-synthetic\"]. The loopback fixture recorded one GET / with no Authorization header; --no-sign-request was explicit.",
        "outcome": "pass"
      },
      {
        "id": "aws-cli-invalid-bucket-rerun",
        "name": "Validate an invalid bucket name",
        "method": "<evaluation>\\downloads\\cli\\aws\\Amazon\\AWSCLIV2\\aws.exe s3api get-object --bucket \"INVALID BUCKET\" --key fixture fixture.txt --no-sign-request --endpoint-url http://127.0.0.1:57373",
        "expected": "Reject INVALID BUCKET before sending a request.",
        "observed": "Exit 252 with ParamValidation for INVALID BUCKET. The loopback request log was empty.",
        "outcome": "pass"
      },
      {
        "id": "aws-cli-config-empty-rerun",
        "name": "Inspect isolated configuration",
        "method": "<evaluation>\\downloads\\cli\\aws\\Amazon\\AWSCLIV2\\aws.exe configure list",
        "expected": "Report no configured access or secret key.",
        "observed": "Exit 0. profile, access_key and secret_key were not set; region was us-east-1 from the explicit harness environment.",
        "outcome": "pass"
      }
    ],
    "findings": [
      {
        "title": "Endpoint and signing flags change what a successful call proves",
        "basis": "observed",
        "severity": "informational",
        "detail": "The client accepted our explicit localhost endpoint and parsed its synthetic response without credentials. Success here verifies client parsing/query behavior, not AWS identity or authorization.",
        "practicalAdvice": "Review endpoint overrides, profile, region and signing options; verify the intended identity separately before account operations."
      },
      {
        "title": "Malformed input failed before network use",
        "basis": "observed",
        "severity": "informational",
        "detail": "The invalid bucket fixture returned a parameter error and generated zero requests to the loopback server. This is one input check, not a complete validation or security audit.",
        "practicalAdvice": "Keep client-side validation enabled, but rely on IAM and service policy for actual authorization."
      }
    ],
    "caveats": [
      "The initial socket attempt was blocked by the host sandbox; the scoped localhost rerun succeeded.",
      "The MSI was extracted locally; system installation/update behavior was not evaluated."
    ],
    "notTested": [
      "Signed requests, IAM roles/policies, SSO/MFA, credential_process and metadata credentials.",
      "Actual S3 transfers, checksum handling, destructive commands, service-specific permissions and costs."
    ],
    "sources": [
      {
        "label": "Official documentation",
        "url": "https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/userguide/cli-chap-welcome.html"
      },
      {
        "label": "Environment and endpoint precedence",
        "url": "https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/userguide/cli-configure-envvars.html"
      }
    ],
    "reportUrl": "/interface-evaluations/aws-cli.json"
  }
}