CBSE Answer Sheet Leak Row: Students Allege AWS Data Breach, Poor Scanning and Evaluation Errors

The Central Board of Secondary Education is facing sharp questions over its digital evaluation of the 2026 board exams, after students and technologists alleged serious data leaks, sloppy scanning of answer sheets and errors inside verified copies, intensifying anger that began with complaints over swapped and mishandled Class 12 answer booklets.

The storm grew after user nisarga, posting as @ni5arga on X, claimed CBSE’s cloud storage on Amazon Web Services was left open, making it possible for anyone to list and download answer sheets and question papers from 2026, across institutions, without any login or authentication.

CBSE answer sheets scanners row and data leak allegations

nisarga wrote: "CBSE people didn't configure their AWS bucket properly and now we can paginate & enumerate all their media which has 2026 answersheets & question papers. ListObjectsV2 works without any auth and the bucket root is listable too — anyone on the internet can download any scanned booklet — across institutions. Multiple institutions are using the same bucket, insanely insecure."

CBSE people didn't configure their AWS bucket properly and now we can paginate & enumerate all their media which has 2026 answersheets & question papers. ListObjectsV2 works without any auth and the bucket root is listable too — anyone on the internet can download any scanned

Once users realised the alleged bucket was visible, many began pulling sample files and examining the CBSE answer sheets. Students and tech workers compared the images with typical outputs from document scanners and argued that the presence of curved pages, shadows from fingers and visible folds suggested that ordinary phone cameras, not CBSE scanners, were used.

Students flag CBSE answer sheets scanners issues and visible defects

Class 12 candidate Sarthak Sidhant, using the handle @sidhant_sarthak, publicly challenged the board’s claim of using scanners for CBSE answer sheets. "@cbseindia29 good morning CBSE, you said you used scanners to scan these copies, now since the copies are out to the public view, do you mind explaining which copies when scanned through a scanner, have a drop shadow? and these 3 folds? did you really use scanners?"

@cbseindia29 good morning CBSE, you said you used scanners to scan these copies,now since the copies are out to the public view, do you mind explainingwhich copies when scanned through a scanner, have a drop shadow? and these 3 folds?did you really use scanners?

The posts triggered ridicule and anger, with one account expanding the CBSE acronym as "Central Board of Scamsters Entourage". Others suggested the process resembled mobile apps. One comment read, "What they meant to say was, they used CamScanner", while another user reacted, "Omg, they took photos of every page of lakhs of answer books instead of scanning!"

Several users argued that "Cheap phone apps do a much better job than this." Another observer, referring to the shadows and page bends on the CBSE answer sheets, said, "Welp looks like they didn't even use those book stand scanners, because those have software present to clean up all these irregularities and create a flat document."

Claims of compromised CBSE answer sheets scanners process and profits

The criticism around CBSE answer sheets and scanners quickly moved beyond image quality. Parents and students alleged that a cost-cutting mindset may have affected scores. One post stated, "I think they have used a mobile cam scanners or taken photo.or by any tab so that they can cut scanning cost and can make more profit….so they have signed tender at minm rate whole system was compromised"

Some families linked these alleged shortcuts to earlier complaints about low marks under the new On-Screen Marking system. Students had already claimed mixed-up CBSE answer sheets and mismanaged evaluation, with at least one case shared online where a percentage reportedly rose from 84 to 91 after rechecking, adding weight to fears about broad systemic faults.

One user shared a case from within the family after ordering a scanned photocopy of CBSE answer sheets. "You're right, one of my cousins applied for a scanned photocopy. On the last page of the copy, a name was written in blue ink, which is abnormal. He even emailed CBSE, but no response till now. I tried to contact CBSE, the number was busy and no response".

Previous CBSE answer sheets scanners clarifications and OSM defence

The debate over CBSE answer sheets and scanners comes after weeks of questions about the On-Screen Marking system. CBSE has earlier said that the OSM portal mentioned in one hacking allegation was only a testing site. The board also rejected social media claims linked to the Coempt Eduteck exam evaluation contract.

As complaints spread, CBSE reportedly circulated a "messaging toolkit" urging schools to "Defend OSM, Don't Panic". At the same time, more students posted screenshots claiming paper mix-ups and large mark changes, insisting that the CBSE answer sheets process, and not just the technology layer, needed closer examination for fairness and accuracy.