fix tests

go.mod

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/google/uuid v1.6.0
 	github.com/hashicorp/boundary/sdk v0.0.59
 	github.com/hashicorp/go-multierror v1.1.1
-	github.com/hashicorp/go-secure-stdlib/awsutil/v2 v2.1.2
+	github.com/hashicorp/go-secure-stdlib/awsutil/v2 v2.1.3
 	github.com/hashicorp/go-secure-stdlib/parseutil v0.2.0
 	github.com/hashicorp/terraform-json v0.23.0
 	github.com/mitchellh/mapstructure v1.5.0

go.sum

@@ -8,12 +8,8 @@ github.com/apparentlymart/go-textseg/v15 v15.0.0 h1:uYvfpb3DyLSCGWnctWKGj857c6ew
 github.com/apparentlymart/go-textseg/v15 v15.0.0/go.mod h1:K8XmNZdhEBkdlyDdvbmmsvpAG721bKi0joRfFdHIWJ4=
 github.com/armon/go-radix v1.0.0 h1:F4z6KzEeeQIMeLFa97iZU6vupzoecKdU5TX24SNppXI=
 github.com/armon/go-radix v1.0.0/go.mod h1:ufUuZ+zHj4x4TnLV4JWEpy2hxWSpsRywHrMgIH9cCH8=
-github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2 v1.39.1 h1:fWZhGAwVRK/fAN2tmt7ilH4PPAE11rDj7HytrmbZ2FE=
-github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2 v1.39.1/go.mod h1:sDioUELIUO9Znk23YVmIk86/9DOpkbyyVb1i/gUNFXY=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2 v1.41.7 h1:DWpAJt66FmnnaRIOT/8ASTucrvuDPZASqhhLey6tLY8=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2 v1.41.7/go.mod h1:4LAfZOPHNVNQEckOACQx60Y8pSRjIkNZQz1w92xpMJc=
-github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/aws/protocol/eventstream v1.7.1 h1:i8p8P4diljCr60PpJp6qZXNlgX4m2yQFpYk+9ZT+J4E=
-github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/aws/protocol/eventstream v1.7.1/go.mod h1:ddqbooRZYNoJ2dsTwOty16rM+/Aqmk/GOXrK8cg7V00=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/aws/protocol/eventstream v1.7.10 h1:gx1AwW1Iyk9Z9dD9F4akX5gnN3QZwUB20GGKH/I+Rho=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/aws/protocol/eventstream v1.7.10/go.mod h1:qqY157uZoqm5OXq/amuaBJyC9hgBCBQnsaWnPe905GY=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/config v1.28.5 h1:Za41twdCXbuyyWv9LndXxZZv3QhTG1DinqlFsSuvtI0=
@@ -22,42 +18,26 @@ github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/credentials v1.17.46 h1:AU7RcriIo2lXjUfHFnFKYsLCwgb
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/credentials v1.17.46/go.mod h1:1FmYyLGL08KQXQ6mcTlifyFXfJVCNJTVGuQP4m0d/UA=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/feature/ec2/imds v1.16.20 h1:sDSXIrlsFSFJtWKLQS4PUWRvrT580rrnuLydJrCQ/yA=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/feature/ec2/imds v1.16.20/go.mod h1:WZ/c+w0ofps+/OUqMwWgnfrgzZH1DZO1RIkktICsqnY=
-github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/internal/configsources v1.4.8 h1:6bgAZgRyT4RoFWhxS+aoGMFyE0cD1bSzFnEEi4bFPGI=
-github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/internal/configsources v1.4.8/go.mod h1:KcGkXFVU8U28qS4KvLEcPxytPZPBcRawaH2Pf/0jptE=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/internal/configsources v1.4.23 h1:GpT/TrnBYuE5gan2cZbTtvP+JlHsutdmlV2YfEyNde0=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/internal/configsources v1.4.23/go.mod h1:xYWD6BS9ywC5bS3sz9Xh04whO/hzK2plt2Zkyrp4JuA=
-github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/internal/endpoints/v2 v2.7.8 h1:HhJYoES3zOz34yWEpGENqJvRVPqpmJyR3+AFg9ybhdY=
-github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/internal/endpoints/v2 v2.7.8/go.mod h1:JnA+hPWeYAVbDssp83tv+ysAG8lTfLVXvSsyKg/7xNA=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/internal/endpoints/v2 v2.7.23 h1:bpd8vxhlQi2r1hiueOw02f/duEPTMK59Q4QMAoTTtTo=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/internal/endpoints/v2 v2.7.23/go.mod h1:15DfR2nw+CRHIk0tqNyifu3G1YdAOy68RftkhMDDwYk=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/internal/ini v1.8.1 h1:VaRN3TlFdd6KxX1x3ILT5ynH6HvKgqdiXoTxAF4HQcQ=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/internal/ini v1.8.1/go.mod h1:FbtygfRFze9usAadmnGJNc8KsP346kEe+y2/oyhGAGc=
-github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/internal/v4a v1.4.8 h1:1/bT9kDdLQzfZ1e6J6hpW+SfNDd6xrV8F3M2CuGyUz8=
-github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/internal/v4a v1.4.8/go.mod h1:RbdwTONAIi59ej/+1H+QzZORt5bcyAtbrS7FQb2pvz0=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/internal/v4a v1.4.24 h1:OQqn11BtaYv1WLUowvcA30MpzIu8Ti4pcLPIIyoKZrA=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/internal/v4a v1.4.24/go.mod h1:X5ZJyfwVrWA96GzPmUCWFQaEARPR7gCrpq2E92PJwAE=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/ec2 v1.254.0 h1:fTLR6dLDTGChAjecRPlVrKeznT0rVdzR4yn9Z68MTGk=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/ec2 v1.254.0/go.mod h1:V0jbRy1/IPapnkqgXSwVOFB+u5pnCwd9S+R3pKWULC4=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/iam v1.47.6 h1:EWehQXACWr+6hzfZPwZChlfoVhiUCfLHE0Xh3kAfzWQ=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/iam v1.47.6/go.mod h1:qRXgEBWPIltrWHQwU+HkyBvwh1QgeigFcaCGCIVrWk0=
-github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/internal/accept-encoding v1.13.1 h1:oegbebPEMA/1Jny7kvwejowCaHz1FWZAQ94WXFNCyTM=
-github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/internal/accept-encoding v1.13.1/go.mod h1:kemo5Myr9ac0U9JfSjMo9yHLtw+pECEHsFtJ9tqCEI8=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/internal/accept-encoding v1.13.9 h1:FLudkZLt5ci0ozzgkVo8BJGwvqNaZbTWb3UcucAateA=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/internal/accept-encoding v1.13.9/go.mod h1:w7wZ/s9qK7c8g4al+UyoF1Sp/Z45UwMGcqIzLWVQHWk=
-github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/internal/checksum v1.8.8 h1:tIN8MFT1z5STK5kTdOT1TCfMN/bn5fSEnlKsTL8qBOU=
-github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/internal/checksum v1.8.8/go.mod h1:VKS56txtNWjKI8FqD/hliL0BcshyF4ZaLBa1rm2Y+5s=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/internal/checksum v1.9.15 h1:ieLCO1JxUWuxTZ1cRd0GAaeX7O6cIxnwk7tc1LsQhC4=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/internal/checksum v1.9.15/go.mod h1:e3IzZvQ3kAWNykvE0Tr0RDZCMFInMvhku3qNpcIQXhM=
-github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/internal/presigned-url v1.13.8 h1:M6JI2aGFEzYxsF6CXIuRBnkge9Wf9a2xU39rNeXgu10=
-github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/internal/presigned-url v1.13.8/go.mod h1:Fw+MyTwlwjFsSTE31mH211Np+CUslml8mzc0AFEG09s=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/internal/presigned-url v1.13.23 h1:pbrxO/kuIwgEsOPLkaHu0O+m4fNgLU8B3vxQ+72jTPw=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/internal/presigned-url v1.13.23/go.mod h1:/CMNUqoj46HpS3MNRDEDIwcgEnrtZlKRaHNaHxIFpNA=
-github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/internal/s3shared v1.19.8 h1:AgYCo1Rb8XChJXA871BXHDNxNWOTAr6V5YdsRIBbgv0=
-github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/internal/s3shared v1.19.8/go.mod h1:Au9dvIGm1Hbqnt29d3VakOCQuN9l0WrkDDTRq8biWS4=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/internal/s3shared v1.19.23 h1:03xatSQO4+AM1lTAbnRg5OK528EUg744nW7F73U8DKw=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/internal/s3shared v1.19.23/go.mod h1:M8l3mwgx5ToK7wot2sBBce/ojzgnPzZXUV445gTSyE8=
-github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/s3 v1.88.2 h1:T7b3qniouutV5Wwa9B1q7gW+Y8s1B3g9RE9qa7zLBIM=
-github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/s3 v1.88.2/go.mod h1:tW9TsLb6t1eaTdBE6LITyJW1m/+DjQPU78Q/jT2FJu8=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/s3 v1.101.0 h1:etqBTKY581iwLL/H/S2sVgk3C9lAsTJFeXWFDsDcWOU=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/s3 v1.101.0/go.mod h1:L2dcoOgS2VSgbPLvpak2NyUPsO1TBN7M45Z4H7DlRc4=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/sso v1.24.6 h1:3zu537oLmsPfDMyjnUS2g+F2vITgy5pB74tHI+JBNoM=
@@ -66,8 +46,6 @@ github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/ssooidc v1.28.5 h1:K0OQAsDywb0ltlFrZm0JHPY3
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/ssooidc v1.28.5/go.mod h1:ORITg+fyuMoeiQFiVGoqB3OydVTLkClw/ljbblMq6Cc=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/sts v1.38.5 h1:+LVB0xBqEgjQoqr9bGZbRzvg212B0f17JdflleJRNR4=
 github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/sts v1.38.5/go.mod h1:xoaxeqnnUaZjPjaICgIy5B+MHCSb/ZSOn4MvkFNOUA0=
-github.com/aws/smithy-go v1.23.0 h1:8n6I3gXzWJB2DxBDnfxgBaSX6oe0d/t10qGz7OKqMCE=
-github.com/aws/smithy-go v1.23.0/go.mod h1:t1ufH5HMublsJYulve2RKmHDC15xu1f26kHCp/HgceI=
 github.com/aws/smithy-go v1.25.1 h1:J8ERsGSU7d+aCmdQur5Txg6bVoYelvQJgtZehD12GkI=
 github.com/aws/smithy-go v1.25.1/go.mod h1:YE2RhdIuDbA5E5bTdciG9KrW3+TiEONeUWCqxX9i1Fc=
 github.com/bgentry/speakeasy v0.1.0 h1:ByYyxL9InA1OWqxJqqp2A5pYHUrCiAL6K3J+LKSsQkY=
@@ -116,8 +94,8 @@ github.com/hashicorp/go-multierror v1.1.1 h1:H5DkEtf6CXdFp0N0Em5UCwQpXMWke8IA0+l
 github.com/hashicorp/go-multierror v1.1.1/go.mod h1:iw975J/qwKPdAO1clOe2L8331t/9/fmwbPZ6JB6eMoM=
 github.com/hashicorp/go-plugin v1.7.0 h1:YghfQH/0QmPNc/AZMTFE3ac8fipZyZECHdDPshfk+mA=
 github.com/hashicorp/go-plugin v1.7.0/go.mod h1:BExt6KEaIYx804z8k4gRzRLEvxKVb+kn0NMcihqOqb8=
-github.com/hashicorp/go-secure-stdlib/awsutil/v2 v2.1.2 h1:KlDrZWx/wYpnUcFPB0s9uhPjyNZoeIfhrV2MN/Ly76s=
-github.com/hashicorp/go-secure-stdlib/awsutil/v2 v2.1.2/go.mod h1:6+rVulOPNCQbL3Xv2iLCqM0JmU2WO2wRzP1C6hBKeB8=
+github.com/hashicorp/go-secure-stdlib/awsutil/v2 v2.1.3 h1:mLe7IMysLSedhuu00W7AXsbfb90AA7UKfZmw3OkJ8n4=
+github.com/hashicorp/go-secure-stdlib/awsutil/v2 v2.1.3/go.mod h1:6+rVulOPNCQbL3Xv2iLCqM0JmU2WO2wRzP1C6hBKeB8=
 github.com/hashicorp/go-secure-stdlib/base62 v0.1.2 h1:ET4pqyjiGmY09R5y+rSd70J2w45CtbWDNvGqWp/R3Ng=
 github.com/hashicorp/go-secure-stdlib/base62 v0.1.2/go.mod h1:EdWO6czbmthiwZ3/PUsDV+UD1D5IRU4ActiaWGwt0Yw=
 github.com/hashicorp/go-secure-stdlib/configutil/v2 v2.0.13 h1:TayxZ5drfMP0G6T++WvnLESGLOWeHtdWDWWTAi2e3Qk=

internal/credential/state.go

@@ -112,10 +112,35 @@ func NewAwsCredentialPersistedState(opts ...AwsCredentialPersistedStateOption) (
 // and runs sts.GetCallerIdentity for the current credentials, which is done
 // to check that the credentials are valid. This method returns a status error
 // with PluginError details.
+//
+// When RoleARN is set and no static key is present (ambient role path),
+// credentials are eagerly retrieved before calling GetCallerIdentity. This
+// forces sts:AssumeRole to be called immediately so that any role errors
+// (e.g. no such role, access denied) surface here rather than being deferred
+// to the first real AWS API call.
 func (s *AwsCredentialPersistedState) ValidateCreds(ctx context.Context) error {
 	if s.CredentialsConfig == nil {
 		return errors.BadRequestStatus("missing credentials config")
 	}
+
+	// For the ambient role path (RoleARN set, no static key), eagerly resolve
+	// the credential chain so that sts:AssumeRole is called now. Without this,
+	// the AssumeRoleProvider inside the chain is lazy and GetCallerIdentity
+	// would succeed even with an invalid role ARN (it uses the mock/ambient
+	// identity directly rather than the assumed one).
+	cc := s.CredentialsConfig
+	if cc.RoleARN != "" && cc.AccessKey == "" {
+		cfg, err := s.GenerateCredentialChain(ctx)
+		if err != nil {
+			st, _ := errors.ParseAWSError("validating credentials", err)
+			return st.Err()
+		}
+		if _, err := cfg.Credentials.Retrieve(ctx); err != nil {
+			st, _ := errors.ParseAWSError("validating credentials", err)
+			return st.Err()
+		}
+	}
+
 	if _, err := s.CredentialsConfig.GetCallerIdentity(ctx, s.testOpts...); err != nil {
 		st, _ := errors.ParseAWSError("validating credentials", err)
 		return st.Err()

plugin/service/host/plugin.go

@@ -90,6 +90,15 @@ func (p *HostPlugin) OnCreateCatalog(ctx context.Context, req *pb.OnCreateCatalo
 		}
 	}
 
+	// Validate assumed-role credentials at catalog-creation time so that an
+	// invalid role_arn is rejected immediately rather than silently falling
+	// back to ambient credentials.
+	if credential.GetCredentialType(credState.CredentialsConfig) == credential.DynamicAWS {
+		if err := credState.ValidateCreds(ctx); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+	}
+
 	catalogState, err := newAwsCatalogPersistedState(
 		append([]awsCatalogPersistedStateOption{
 			withCredentials(credState),
@@ -185,6 +194,15 @@ func (p *HostPlugin) OnUpdateCatalog(ctx context.Context, req *pb.OnUpdateCatalo
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, errors.BadRequestStatusf("error setting up new credential persisted state: %s", err)
 		}
+
+		// Validate assumed-role credentials when the role_arn changes so that
+		// an invalid ARN is caught before replacing the existing credential state.
+		if credential.GetCredentialType(newCredState.CredentialsConfig) == credential.DynamicAWS {
+			if err := newCredState.ValidateCreds(ctx); err != nil {
+				return nil, err
+			}
+		}
+
 		newCatalogState, err := newAwsCatalogPersistedState(
 			append([]awsCatalogPersistedStateOption{
 				withCredentials(newCredState),

plugin/service/host/plugin_test.go

@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ import (
 	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/ec2/types"
 	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/iam"
 	iamTypes "github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/iam/types"
+	"github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/sts"
+	stsTypes "github.com/aws/aws-sdk-go-v2/service/sts/types"
 	"github.com/google/go-cmp/cmp"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/boundary-plugin-aws/internal/credential"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/boundary/sdk/pbs/controller/api/resources/hostcatalogs"
@@ -28,6 +30,38 @@ import (
 	"google.golang.org/protobuf/testing/protocmp"
 	"google.golang.org/protobuf/types/known/structpb"
 )
+// testRoleARN is a syntactically valid ARN used for role_arn test cases.
+// All STS calls against it are handled by injected mocks — no real AWS
+// account is contacted.
+const testRoleARN = "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/BoundaryTestRole"
+
+// validAssumeRoleOutput returns a mock AssumeRoleOutput with synthetic
+// temporary credentials for use with WithSTSAPIFunc.
+func validAssumeRoleOutput() *sts.AssumeRoleOutput {
+	return &sts.AssumeRoleOutput{
+		Credentials: &stsTypes.Credentials{
+			AccessKeyId:     aws.String("ASIAmockassumedkey"),
+			SecretAccessKey: aws.String("mockassumedsecret"),
+			SessionToken:    aws.String("mockassumedsessiontoken"),
+			Expiration:      aws.Time(time.Now().Add(time.Hour)),
+		},
+	}
+}
+
+// catalogAttrsStruct builds a catalog attributes structpb for the given
+// region. roleArn is written only when non-empty. disableRotation must be
+// set explicitly to avoid implicit rotation behaviour in tests.
+func catalogAttrsStruct(region, roleArn string, disableRotation bool) *structpb.Struct {
+	fields := map[string]*structpb.Value{
+		credential.ConstRegion:                    structpb.NewStringValue(region),
+		credential.ConstDisableCredentialRotation: structpb.NewBoolValue(disableRotation),
+	}
+	if roleArn != "" {
+		fields[credential.ConstRoleArn] = structpb.NewStringValue(roleArn)
+	}
+	return &structpb.Struct{Fields: fields}
+}
+
 
 func TestPluginOnCreateCatalogSuccess(t *testing.T) {
 	tests := []struct {
@@ -138,17 +172,13 @@ func TestPluginOnCreateCatalogSuccess(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 		},
 		{
+			// role_arn set, no static keys. AssumeRole mock succeeds.
+			// Persisted secrets are empty — dynamic credentials are not stored.
 			name: "usingAssumeRole",
 			req: &pb.OnCreateCatalogRequest{
 				Catalog: &hostcatalogs.HostCatalog{
 					Attrs: &hostcatalogs.HostCatalog_Attributes{
-						Attributes: &structpb.Struct{
-							Fields: map[string]*structpb.Value{
-								credential.ConstRegion:                    structpb.NewStringValue("us-east-1"),
-								credential.ConstRoleArn:                   structpb.NewStringValue("arn:0123:test:rolearn"),
-								credential.ConstDisableCredentialRotation: structpb.NewBoolValue(true),
-							},
-						},
+						Attributes: catalogAttrsStruct("us-east-1", testRoleARN, true),
 					},
 				},
 			},
@@ -158,6 +188,13 @@ func TestPluginOnCreateCatalogSuccess(t *testing.T) {
 					testMockEC2WithDescribeInstancesOutput(&ec2.DescribeInstancesOutput{}),
 				)),
 			},
+			credOpts: []credential.AwsCredentialPersistedStateOption{
+				credential.WithStateTestOpts([]awsutil.Option{
+					awsutil.WithSTSAPIFunc(awsutil.NewMockSTS(
+						awsutil.WithAssumeRoleOutput(validAssumeRoleOutput()),
+					)),
+				}),
+			},
 			expRsp: &pb.OnCreateCatalogResponse{Persisted: &pb.HostCatalogPersisted{Secrets: &structpb.Struct{}}},
 		},
 	}
@@ -315,6 +352,20 @@ func TestPluginOnUpdateCatalogSuccess(t *testing.T) {
 					testMockEC2WithDescribeInstancesOutput(&ec2.DescribeInstancesOutput{}),
 				)),
 			},
+			credOpts: []credential.AwsCredentialPersistedStateOption{
+				credential.WithStateTestOpts([]awsutil.Option{
+					awsutil.WithSTSAPIFunc(awsutil.NewMockSTS(
+						awsutil.WithAssumeRoleOutput(&sts.AssumeRoleOutput{
+							Credentials: &stsTypes.Credentials{
+								AccessKeyId:     aws.String("ASIAfoobar"),
+								SecretAccessKey: aws.String("secretkeyfoobar"),
+								SessionToken:    aws.String("sessiontokenfoobar"),
+								Expiration:      aws.Time(time.Now().Add(time.Hour)),
+							},
+						}),
+					)),
+				}),
+			},
 			expRsp: &pb.OnUpdateCatalogResponse{
 				Persisted: &pb.HostCatalogPersisted{Secrets: &structpb.Struct{}},
 			},
@@ -421,6 +472,16 @@ func TestPluginOnUpdateCatalogSuccess(t *testing.T) {
 			credOpts: []credential.AwsCredentialPersistedStateOption{
 				credential.WithStateTestOpts([]awsutil.Option{
 					awsutil.WithIAMAPIFunc(awsutil.NewMockIAM()),
+					awsutil.WithSTSAPIFunc(awsutil.NewMockSTS(
+						awsutil.WithAssumeRoleOutput(&sts.AssumeRoleOutput{
+							Credentials: &stsTypes.Credentials{
+								AccessKeyId:     aws.String("ASIAfoobar"),
+								SecretAccessKey: aws.String("secretkeyfoobar"),
+								SessionToken:    aws.String("sessiontokenfoobar"),
+								Expiration:      aws.Time(time.Now().Add(time.Hour)),
+							},
+						}),
+					)),
 				}),
 			},
 			expRsp: &pb.OnUpdateCatalogResponse{
@@ -748,6 +809,35 @@ func TestPluginOnCreateCatalogErr(t *testing.T) {
 			expectedErrContains: testDescribeInstancesError,
 			expectedErrCode:     codes.Unknown,
 		},
+		{
+			// BUG FIX: role_arn set, no static keys. AssumeRole mock returns
+			// an error. ValidateCreds now eagerly calls Retrieve() which forces
+			// sts:AssumeRole, so the error surfaces here at creation time.
+			// Previously this succeeded silently via the ambient credential chain.
+			name: "role_arn AssumeRole error — correctly rejected",
+			req: &pb.OnCreateCatalogRequest{
+				Catalog: &hostcatalogs.HostCatalog{
+					Attrs: &hostcatalogs.HostCatalog_Attributes{
+						Attributes: catalogAttrsStruct("us-east-1", testRoleARN, true),
+					},
+				},
+			},
+			credOpts: []credential.AwsCredentialPersistedStateOption{
+				credential.WithStateTestOpts([]awsutil.Option{
+					awsutil.WithSTSAPIFunc(awsutil.NewMockSTS(
+						awsutil.WithAssumeRoleError(errors.New("simulated AssumeRole failure")),
+					)),
+				}),
+			},
+			catalogOpts: []awsCatalogPersistedStateOption{
+				withTestEC2APIFunc(newTestMockEC2(
+					nil,
+					testMockEC2WithDescribeInstancesOutput(&ec2.DescribeInstancesOutput{}),
+				)),
+			},
+			expectedErrContains: "simulated AssumeRole failure",
+			expectedErrCode:     codes.Unknown,
+		},
 	}
 
 	for _, tc := range cases {
@@ -1036,6 +1126,16 @@ func TestPluginOnUpdateCatalogErr(t *testing.T) {
 					},
 				},
 			},
+			// ValidateCreds is called for DynamicAWS credentials before the dry-run
+			// DescribeInstances. Provide a mock STS that returns a successful AssumeRole
+			// so the validate step passes and execution reaches the EC2 mock.
+			credOpts: []credential.AwsCredentialPersistedStateOption{
+				credential.WithStateTestOpts([]awsutil.Option{
+					awsutil.WithSTSAPIFunc(awsutil.NewMockSTS(
+						awsutil.WithAssumeRoleOutput(validAssumeRoleOutput()),
+					)),
+				}),
+			},
 			catalogOpts: []awsCatalogPersistedStateOption{
 				withTestEC2APIFunc(newTestMockEC2(
 					nil,