Fetch-url-http-3a-2f-2f169.254.169.254-2flatest-2fmeta Data-2fiam-2fsecurity Credentials-2f !!top!! -

The IP address 169.254.169.254 is a link-local address used by cloud providers, most notably AWS, to host the Instance Metadata Service (IMDS).

Modern cloud architectures rely on IAM roles rather than hardcoded access keys. When you launch an EC2 instance with an IAM role, AWS automatically injects temporary access keys, secret keys, and session tokens into the instance metadata service. Any process on that instance can query: The IP address 169

Stay secure, and always treat metadata as top‑secret data – because in the cloud, it is. most notably AWS

A web application has a bug allowing a user to input a URL (e.g., image=http://example.com ). AWS automatically injects temporary access keys