Race condition in Red Hat Ansible
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Attack complexity
- High
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- Low · Low · Low
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 7 fixed, 6 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA, GitHub and Red Hat.
Summary
A race condition flaw was found in Ansible Engine 2.7.17 and prior, 2.8.9 and prior, 2.9.6 and prior when running a playbook with an unprivileged become user. When Ansible needs to run a module with become user, the temporary directory is created in /var/tmp. This directory is created with "umask 77 && mkdir -p <dir>"; this operation does not fail if the directory already exists and is owned by another user. An attacker could take advantage to gain control of the become user as the target directory can be retrieved by iterating '/proc/<pid>/cmdline'.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat | Ansible | up to 2.7.17; up to 2.8.9; up to 2.9.6 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
| — | ansible (PyPI) | before 2.7.17 | 2.7.17 | Patch available | GHSA-g4mq-6fp5-qwcf |
| — | ansible (PyPI) | 2.8.0a1 to before 2.8.11 | 2.8.11 | Patch available | GHSA-g4mq-6fp5-qwcf |
| — | ansible (PyPI) | 2.9.0a1 to before 2.9.7 | 2.9.7 | Patch available | GHSA-g4mq-6fp5-qwcf |
- Ansible VendorRed Hat Affected up to 2.7.17; up to 2.8.9; up to 2.9.6 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
- ansible (PyPI) Vendor— Affected before 2.7.17 Fixed in 2.7.17 Patch available GHSA-g4mq-6fp5-qwcf
- ansible (PyPI) Vendor— Affected 2.8.0a1 to before 2.8.11 Fixed in 2.8.11 Patch available GHSA-g4mq-6fp5-qwcf
- ansible (PyPI) Vendor— Affected 2.9.0a1 to before 2.9.7 Fixed in 2.9.7 Patch available GHSA-g4mq-6fp5-qwcf
CPE configurations NVD · 9
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:redhat:ansible:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | up to 2.7.16; 2.8.0 to before 2.8.8; 2.9.0 – 2.9.5 | Vulnerable | Red Hat |
| cpe:2.3:a:redhat:ansible_tower:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | up to 3.3.4; 3.3.5 – 3.4.5; 3.5.0 – 3.5.5; 3.6.0 – 3.6.3 | Vulnerable | Red Hat |
| cpe:2.3:a:redhat:cloudforms_management_engine:5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.0 | Vulnerable | Red Hat |
| cpe:2.3:a:redhat:openstack:13:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 13 | Vulnerable | Red Hat |
| cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:30:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 30 | Vulnerable | Fedoraproject |
| cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:31:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 31 | Vulnerable | Fedoraproject |
| cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:32:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 32 | Vulnerable | Fedoraproject |
| cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 8.0 | Vulnerable | Debian |
| cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 10.0 | Vulnerable | Debian |
- cpe:2.3:a:redhat:ansible:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions up to 2.7.16; 2.8.0 to before 2.8.8; 2.9.0 – 2.9.5 Vulnerable ·Red Hat
- cpe:2.3:a:redhat:ansible_tower:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions up to 3.3.4; 3.3.5 – 3.4.5; 3.5.0 – 3.5.5; 3.6.0 – 3.6.3 Vulnerable ·Red Hat
- cpe:2.3:a:redhat:cloudforms_management_engine:5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.0 Vulnerable ·Red Hat
- cpe:2.3:a:redhat:openstack:13:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 13 Vulnerable ·Red Hat
- cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:30:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 30 Vulnerable ·Fedoraproject
- cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:31:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 31 Vulnerable ·Fedoraproject
- cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:32:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 32 Vulnerable ·Fedoraproject
- cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 8.0 Vulnerable ·Debian
- cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 10.0 Vulnerable ·Debian
Remediation
- Fix · GHSA-g4mq-6fp5-qwcf ansible (PyPI) Fixed in 2.7.17 Advisory →
- Fix · GHSA-g4mq-6fp5-qwcf ansible (PyPI) Fixed in 2.8.11 Advisory →
- Fix · GHSA-g4mq-6fp5-qwcf ansible (PyPI) Fixed in 2.9.7 Advisory →
Red Hat 4 advisories
- RHSA-2020:1543 Released 2020-04-22 · Red Hat rating ImportantAnsible security and bug fix update (2.8.11)
- Red Hat Ansible Engine 2.8 for RHEL 7 Server ansible-2.8.11-1.el7ae
- Red Hat Ansible Engine 2.8 for RHEL 8 ansible-2.8.11-1.el8ae
- RHSA-2020:1544 Released 2020-04-22 · Red Hat rating ImportantAnsible security and bug fix update (2.7.17)
- Red Hat Ansible Engine 2.7 for RHEL 7 Server ansible-2.7.17-1.el7ae
- RHSA-2020:1542 Released 2020-04-22 · Red Hat rating ImportantAnsible security and bug fix update (2.9.7)
- Red Hat Ansible Engine 2 for RHEL 7 ansible-2.9.7-1.el7ae, ansible-test-2.9.7-1.el7ae
- Red Hat Ansible Engine 2 for RHEL 8 ansible-2.9.7-1.el8ae, ansible-test-2.9.7-1.el8ae
Show 1 more Red Hat advisories
- RHSA-2020:1541 Released 2020-04-22 · Red Hat rating ImportantAnsible security and bug fix update (2.9.7)
- Red Hat Ansible Engine 2.9 for RHEL 7 Server ansible-2.9.7-1.el7ae, ansible-test-2.9.7-1.el7ae
- Red Hat Ansible Engine 2.9 for RHEL 8 ansible-2.9.7-1.el8ae, ansible-test-2.9.7-1.el8ae
Fixed in the same release
Records fixed by the same vendor advisory or release, as the CNA lists them.
- Advisory ·
Red Hat Ansible — FEDORA-2020-3990f03ba3
4 records Highest priority Priority LOW 4 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2020-01696 Information disclosure in Red Hat AnsiblePriority LOW 25
- TI-2020-01684 Information disclosure in Red Hat ansiblePriority LOW 22
- TI-2020-01679 Path traversal in Red Hat ansiblePriority LOW 22
- Advisory ·
Red Hat Ansible — FEDORA-2020-f80154b5b4
4 records Highest priority Priority LOW 4 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2020-01696 Information disclosure in Red Hat AnsiblePriority LOW 25
- TI-2020-01684 Information disclosure in Red Hat ansiblePriority LOW 22
- TI-2020-01679 Path traversal in Red Hat ansiblePriority LOW 22
Show 1 more group
- Advisory ·
Red Hat Ansible — FEDORA-2020-1b6ce91e37
4 records Highest priority Priority LOW 4 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2020-01696 Information disclosure in Red Hat AnsiblePriority LOW 25
- TI-2020-01684 Information disclosure in Red Hat ansiblePriority LOW 22
- TI-2020-01679 Path traversal in Red Hat ansiblePriority LOW 22
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Ansible Tower 3 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Ceph Storage 2 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Ceph Storage 3 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat OpenStack Platform 10 (Newton) | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat OpenStack Platform 13 (Queens) | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Storage 3 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Ansible Engine 2 for RHEL 7 | Fixed | RHSA-2020:1542 |
| Red Hat Ansible Engine 2 for RHEL 8 | Fixed | RHSA-2020:1542 |
| Red Hat Ansible Engine 2.7 for RHEL 7 Server | Fixed | RHSA-2020:1544 |
| Red Hat Ansible Engine 2.8 for RHEL 7 Server | Fixed | RHSA-2020:1543 |
| Red Hat Ansible Engine 2.8 for RHEL 8 | Fixed | RHSA-2020:1543 |
| Red Hat Ansible Engine 2.9 for RHEL 7 Server | Fixed | RHSA-2020:1541 |
| Red Hat Ansible Engine 2.9 for RHEL 8 | Fixed | RHSA-2020:1541 |
Not affected: 1 product
- CloudForms Management Engine 5
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2020-1733
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-g4mq-6fp5-qwcf
References
Advisory 9
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2020-1733
- FEDORA-2020-1b6ce91e37
- FEDORA-2020-3990f03ba3
- FEDORA-2020-f80154b5b4
- [debian-lts-announce] 20200505 [SECURITY] [DLA 2202-1] ansible security update
- GLSA-202006-11
- DSA-4950
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-1733
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-g4mq-6fp5-qwcf
Other 8
- https://github.com/ansible/ansible/commit/80b9a0a25c5f75e84aefc8f2b293fb1933b154f2
- https://github.com/ansible/ansible/commit/8251d9f4c2bc82632ab992277fcd30ccbf87aa47
- https://github.com/ansible/ansible/commit/ecf99d5e1ff732a7777010facd6c98bb0994605e
- https://github.com/ansible/ansible
- https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/ansible/PYSEC-2020-5.yaml
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected]/message/DKPA4KC3OJSUFASUYMG66HKJE7ADNGFW
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected]/message/MRRYUU5ZBLPBXCYG6CFP35D64NP2UB2S
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected]/message/WQVOQD4VAIXXTVQAJKTN7NUGTJFE2PCB
More Red Hat Ansible vulnerabilities
- TI-2016-07808 Improper input validation in Ansible CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.1
- TI-2014-03853 Injection in Ansible CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2014-03839 The safe_eval function in Ansible before 1.5.4 does not properly restrict the code… CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2017-05191 Sensitive information in log files in Red Hat ansible CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2014-04077 Multiple argument injection vulnerabilities in Ansible before 1.6.7 allow remote… CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2014-04076 Ansible before 1.6.7 does not prevent inventory data with "{{" and "lookup" substrings… CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
Sources
- CVE-2020-1733 · CVE Program
- CVE-2020-1733 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-g4mq-6fp5-qwcf · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2020-1733 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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