Description
A flaw was found in Ansible. The ansible-core `user` module can allow an unprivileged user to silently create or replace the contents of any file on any system path and take ownership of it when a privileged user executes the `user` module against the unprivileged user's home directory. If the unprivileged user has traversal permissions on the directory containing the exploited target file, they retain full control over the contents of the file as its owner.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | ansible-core | < 2.14.18rc1, 2.15.0b1 – < 2.15.13rc1, 2.16.0b1 – < 2.16.13rc1, 2.17.0b1 – < 2.17.6rc1, 2.18.0b1 – < 2.18.0rc2 | 2.14.18rc1 |
| Red Hat | Ansible Automation Platform Execution Environments | — | — |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.4 for RHEL 8 | — | — |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.4 for RHEL 9 | — | — |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 for RHEL 8 | — | — |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 for RHEL 9 | — | — |
| Red Hat | Red Hat OpenStack Platform 17.1 for RHEL 9 | — | — |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | — | — |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | ansible | 5.4.0-1 | — |
| Debian 14 | ansible-core | 2.18.0-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | ansible | 5.4.0-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | ansible-core | 2.18.0-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | ansible | 5.4.0-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | ansible-core | 2.14.18-0+deb12u1 | — |
| Debian 11 | ansible | 2.10.7+merged+base+2.10.17+dfsg-0+deb11u2 | DLA-3963-1 |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.10 | ansible +1 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | ansible +1 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 25.10 | ansible +1 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | ansible +1 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | ansible-core | No fix yet | — |
Show 5 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro 22.04 LTS | ansible | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS | ansible | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS | ansible | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS | ansible | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS | ansible | No fix yet | — |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat OpenStack 17 | openstack-ansible-core | 2.14.2-4.6.el9ost | RHSA-2025:1861 |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform Inside 2 | ansible-core | 1:2.15.13-1.el8ap | RHSA-2024:10762, RHSA-2024:9894 |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform Developer 2 | ansible-core | 1:2.15.13-1.el8ap | RHSA-2024:10762, RHSA-2024:9894 |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | ansible-core | 1:2.15.13-1.el8ap | RHSA-2024:10762, RHSA-2024:9894 |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | automation-controller-venv-tower | 4.5.13-1.el8ap | RHSA-2024:10762 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | ansible-core +1 | 2.17.6-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2024:14537-1, openSUSE-SU-2024:14498-1 |
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | ansible-core-2.16 | 2.16.13-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2024:14499-1 |
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | ansible-core-2.18 | 2.18.10-2.1 | openSUSE-SU-2025:15638-1 |
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | ansible-core-2.19 | 2.19.4-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2025:15754-1 |
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | ansible-core-2.20 | 2.20.6-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:10945-1 |
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | ansible-core-2.21 | 2.21.6-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:12451-1 |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2023 | ansible-core +1 | 2.15.3-1.amzn2023.0.11 | ALAS2023-2025-918 |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 3 | ansible | 2.17.11-1 | — |
| Azure Linux 2 (CBL-Mariner) | ansible | 2.14.18-1 | — |
Public exploits
Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.
Third-party code, not reviewed by us. Public PoCs are sometimes fake or contain malware. Read the code first and run it only in an isolated lab, against systems you are authorised to test.
GitHub 1 repository
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M8seven/cve-2026-11837-ansible-posix-authorized-key ★ 1 · Jun 23, 2026
CVE-2026-11837: local privilege escalation in the ansible.posix authorized_key module via symlink-following chown. Technical writeup; sibling of CVE-2024-9902.
Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.
Affected packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PyPI | ansible-core | < 2.14.18rc1 | 2.14.18rc1 | GHSA-32p4-gm2c-wmch |
| PyPI | ansible-core | >= 2.15.0b1, < 2.15.13rc1 | 2.15.13rc1 | GHSA-32p4-gm2c-wmch |
| PyPI | ansible-core | >= 2.16.0b1, < 2.16.13rc1 | 2.16.13rc1 | GHSA-32p4-gm2c-wmch |
| PyPI | ansible-core | >= 2.17.0b1, < 2.17.6rc1 | 2.17.6rc1 | GHSA-32p4-gm2c-wmch |
| PyPI | ansible-core | >= 2.18.0b1, < 2.18.0rc2 | 2.18.0rc2 | GHSA-32p4-gm2c-wmch |
| PyPI | ansible-core | < 2.14.18rc1 · >= 2.15.0b1, < 2.15.13rc1 · >= 2.16.0b1, < 2.16.13rc1 · >= 2.17.0b1, < 2.17.6rc1 · >= 2.18.0b1, < 2.18.0rc2 | 2.14.18rc1, 2.15.13rc1, 2.16.13rc1, 2.17.6rc1, 2.18.0rc2 | PYSEC-2026-1121 |
Advisories 14
- openSUSE-SU-2026:12451-1 ansible-core-2.21-2.21.6-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Nov 7, 2026
- RHSA-2025:1861 Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat OpenStack Platform 17.1.4 (openstack-ansible-core) security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Oct 16, 2026
- RHSA-2024:10762 Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.4 Product Security and Bug Fix Update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Oct 16, 2026
- RHSA-2024:9894 Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 Product Release Update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Sep 18, 2026
- WID-SEC-2024-3358 Ansible: Schwachstelle ermöglicht Privilegieneskalation BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Jun 7, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:10945-1 ansible-core-2.20-2.20.6-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jun 4, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2025:15638-1 ansible-core-2.18-2.18.10-2.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- DLA-3963-1 ansible - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2024:14499-1 ansible-core-2.16-2.16.13-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2024:14498-1 ansible-core-2.17.6-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2025:15754-1 ansible-core-2.19-2.19.4-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2024:14537-1 ansible-core-2.17-2.17.6-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · May 7, 2025
- WID-SEC-2025-0809 Oracle Siebel CRM: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Apr 15, 2025
- ALAS2023-2025-918 Moderate: ansible-core security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Apr 1, 2025
References
- RHSA-2024:10762 vendor-advisory
- RHSA-2024:8969 vendor-advisory
- RHSA-2024:9894 vendor-advisory
- RHSA-2025:1861 vendor-advisory
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2024-9902 vdb-entry
- RHBZ#2318271 issue-tracking