Why does an EC2 service use the wrong AWS identity after an instance role is attached?

In this example, a team attaches the intended instance profile to EC2. A diagnostic command in a clean shell shows the expected role, but the application still identifies itself as an older IAM user. The system service definition contains legacy AWS environment variables. What should change?

The application is selecting credentials from its own process configuration before it reaches the instance role. Inspect the SDK’s credential path and the service environment safely. Remove obsolete static credentials through the deployment configuration, then restart or redeploy the process as required.

Do not print access keys to establish the diagnosis. Compare identity results and configuration sources instead. Verify the real service operation after the change and check that the SDK can continue using renewable role credentials. A successful command in a different shell does not demonstrate what the service uses.

We unset the variables over SSH and the service did not change. Is that expected?

Yes. Changing an interactive shell does not rewrite the environment of an already running service. Update the service’s actual configuration and apply the normal restart procedure.

Confirm the role is attached through the intended instance profile and that the role grants only the application’s needed operations. Removing old credentials should not be paired with unnecessarily broad new permissions.

Why does an EC2 service use the wrong AWS identity after an instance role is attached?

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