Description
A flaw was found in the automation-controller instance
install-bundle endpoint. When a System Administrator downloads
an execution/hop node's install bundle, the controller signs an
X.509 certificate with the receptor mesh certificate authority
in which the Common Name, DNS subject-alternative-name, and
receptor node-id are taken verbatim from the caller-chosen
instance hostname, with a hard-coded ten-year validity, a random
serial, and no issuance log or revocation list. Because the
hostname charset validator is case-insensitive while the
uniqueness validator is case-sensitive, an administrator can
register a case variant of an existing control node's hostname
and obtain a mesh-CA-signed certificate that TLS peers, which
match hostnames case-insensitively, accept as that control node.
In managed/hosted deployments — where the customer holds
controller superuser but the platform operator runs the mesh —
this yields a long-lived, non-revocable mesh peer credential and,
with an on-path position, TLS impersonation or interception of
control/hybrid mesh nodes. It does not grant direct remote code
execution, because receptor work submission is gated by a
separate signing key not included in the bundle.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 for RHEL 9 | — | — |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 | — | — |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.7 | — | — |
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.
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform Inside 2 | receptor | 1.6.8-1.el8ap | RHSA-2026:71114, RHSA-2026:71113 |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform Developer 2 | automation-controller +1 | 4.7.17-1.el9ap | RHSA-2026:71113 |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform Developer 2 | python-sqlparse +1 | 0.6.0-1.el10ap | RHSA-2026:71113 |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform Developer 2 | python3.12-sqlparse | 0.6.0-1.el8ap | RHSA-2026:71114, RHSA-2026:71113 |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform Developer 2 | receptor | 1.6.8-1.el8ap | RHSA-2026:71114, RHSA-2026:71113 |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | automation-controller +3 | 4.7.17-1.el9ap | RHSA-2026:71113 |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | automation-controller-venv-tower | 4.6.33-1.el8ap | RHSA-2026:71114, RHSA-2026:71113 |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | automation-gateway-proxy-server | 2.5.10-8.el8ap | RHSA-2026:71114, RHSA-2026:71113 |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | automation-gateway-server | 2.5.20260923-1.el8ap | RHSA-2026:71114 |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | automation-platform-ui | 2.6.14-1.el9ap | RHSA-2026:71113 |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | python-sqlparse +1 | 0.6.0-1.el10ap | RHSA-2026:71113 |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | python3.12-gitpython | 3.1.60-1.el8ap | RHSA-2026:71114, RHSA-2026:71113 |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | python3.12-sqlparse | 0.6.0-1.el8ap | RHSA-2026:71114, RHSA-2026:71113 |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | receptor | 1.6.8-1.el8ap | RHSA-2026:71114, RHSA-2026:71113 |
Advisories 3
- WID-SEC-2026-3555 Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform (automation-controller): Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 12, 2026
- RHSA-2026:71114 Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 Product Security and Bug Fix Update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Oct 20, 2026
- RHSA-2026:71113 Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 Product Security and Bug Fix Update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Oct 20, 2026
References
- RHSA-2026:71113 vendor-advisory
- RHSA-2026:71114 vendor-advisory
- RHSA-2026:71177 vendor-advisory
- RHSA-2026:71179 vendor-advisory
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-84716 vdb-entry
- RHBZ#2527199 issue-tracking