Ansible-collection-ansible-posix: ansible.posix authorized_key: local privilege escalation via symlink-following chown
Priority LOW 33CWE-59Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 6 fixed, 3 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
A local privilege escalation vulnerability was found in the ansible.posix authorized_key module. The module's keyfile() function uses os.chown() instead of os.lchown() and opens files without O_NOFOLLOW when managing SSH authorized keys. An unprivileged local user can pre-stage symbolic links in their ~/.ssh directory to redirect file ownership changes to arbitrary system paths when an operator runs the authorized_key task as root, leading to local privilege escalation.
Why it matters now
Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.00163 5th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial Red Hat: 4 advisoriesRed Hat: 6 fixed, 3 without a fix
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | — | 0.2.10-1.el10_2 | Patch available | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support | — | 0.2.3-6.el10_0.2 | Patch available | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support | — | 0.1.8-2.el8_6.1 | Patch available | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update Support Long-Life Add-On | — | 0.1.8-2.el8_6.1 | Patch available | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Telecommunications Update Service | — | 0.1.8-5.el8_8.1 | Patch available | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Update Services for SAP Solutions | — | 0.1.8-5.el8_8.1 | Patch available | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | — | — | Not affected | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | — | — | No fix listed | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | — | — | Not affected | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | — | — | No fix listed | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | — | — | Not affected | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat OpenStack Platform 17.1 | — | — | No fix listed | CNA |
| Red Hat | Red Hat OpenStack Platform 18.0 | — | — | Not affected | CNA |
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in 0.2.10-1.el10_2 Patch available CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in 0.2.3-6.el10_0.2 Patch available CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in 0.1.8-2.el8_6.1 Patch available CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update Support Long-Life Add-On VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in 0.1.8-2.el8_6.1 Patch available CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Telecommunications Update Service VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in 0.1.8-5.el8_8.1 Patch available CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Update Services for SAP Solutions VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in 0.1.8-5.el8_8.1 Patch available CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in — Not affected CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in — Not affected CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in — Not affected CNA
- Red Hat OpenStack Platform 17.1 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
- Red Hat OpenStack Platform 18.0 VendorRed Hat Affected — Fixed in — Not affected CNA
CPE names CNA · 11
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10.2 | 10.2 | — | Red Hat |
| cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux_eus:10.0 | 10.0 | — | Red Hat |
| cpe:/a:redhat:rhel_aus:8.6::appstream | 8.6 | — | Red Hat |
| cpe:/a:redhat:rhel_eus_long_life:8.6::appstream | 8.6 | — | Red Hat |
| cpe:/a:redhat:rhel_e4s:8.8::appstream | 8.8 | — | Red Hat |
| cpe:/a:redhat:rhel_tus:8.8::appstream | 8.8 | — | Red Hat |
| cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:10 | 10 | — | Red Hat |
| cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:8 | 8 | — | Red Hat |
| cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:9 | 9 | — | Red Hat |
| cpe:/a:redhat:openstack:17.1 | 17.1 | — | Red Hat |
- cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10.2 Versions 10.2 — ·Red Hat
- cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux_eus:10.0 Versions 10.0 — ·Red Hat
- cpe:/a:redhat:rhel_aus:8.6::appstream Versions 8.6 — ·Red Hat
- cpe:/a:redhat:rhel_eus_long_life:8.6::appstream Versions 8.6 — ·Red Hat
- cpe:/a:redhat:rhel_e4s:8.8::appstream Versions 8.8 — ·Red Hat
- cpe:/a:redhat:rhel_tus:8.8::appstream Versions 8.8 — ·Red Hat
- cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:10 Versions 10 — ·Red Hat
- cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:8 Versions 8 — ·Red Hat
- cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:9 Versions 9 — ·Red Hat
- cpe:/a:redhat:openstack:17.1 Versions 17.1 — ·Red Hat
Remediation
Red Hat 4 advisories
- RHSA-2026:82339 Released 2026-10-13 · Red Hat rating Importantrhc-worker-playbook security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream E4S (v.8.8) rhc-worker-playbook-0.1.8-5.el8_8.1
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream TUS (v.8.8) rhc-worker-playbook-0.1.8-5.el8_8.1
- RHSA-2026:80508 Released 2026-10-12 · Red Hat rating Importantrhc-worker-playbook security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream AUS (v.8.6) rhc-worker-playbook-0.1.8-2.el8_6.1
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS EXTENSION (v.8.6) rhc-worker-playbook-0.1.8-2.el8_6.1
- RHSA-2026:79112 Released 2026-10-08 · Red Hat rating Importantrhc-worker-playbook security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v. 10.0) rhc-worker-playbook-0.2.3-6.el10_0.2
Show 1 more Red Hat advisories
- RHSA-2026:42946 Released 2026-07-21 · Red Hat rating Importantrhc-worker-playbook security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 10) rhc-worker-playbook-0.2.10-1.el10_2
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Important. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat OpenStack Platform 17.1 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:42946 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream AUS (v.8.6) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:80508 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream E4S (v.8.8) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:82339 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v. 10.0) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:79112 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS EXTENSION (v.8.6) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:80508 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream TUS (v.8.8) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:82339 |
Not affected: 4 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenStack Platform 18.0
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-11837
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-49qh-h4vj-mrgf
- 2026-10-08 Fix available: rhc-worker-playbook@0:0.2.3-6.el10_0.2 · CNA
- 2026-10-08 1 new reference · CNA
- 2026-10-09 Fix available: RHSA-2026:79112 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-09 Fix available: Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v. 10.0) · Red Hat
- 2026-10-12 Fix available: rhc-worker-playbook@0:0.1.8-2.el8_6.1 · CNA
- 2026-10-12 1 new reference · CNA
- 2026-10-12 Fix available: RHSA-2026:80508 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-12 Fix available: Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream AUS (v.8.6), Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS EXTENSION (v.8.6) · Red Hat
- 2026-10-13 Fix available: rhc-worker-playbook@0:0.1.8-5.el8_8.1 · CNA
- 2026-10-13 1 new reference · CNA
- 2026-10-14 Fix available: RHSA-2026:82339 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-15 Fix available: Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream E4S (v.8.8), Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream TUS (v.8.8) · Red Hat
- 2026-10-29 Fix available: rhc-worker-playbook@0:0.2.10-1.el10_2 · CNA
- 2026-10-29 1 new reference · CNA
- 2026-10-29 Fix available: RHSA-2026:42946 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-29 Fix available: Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 10) · Red Hat
References
More Red Hat vulnerabilities
- TI-2019-15875 Protection mechanism failure in Jenkins Pipeline: Groovy Plugin KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.9
- TI-2019-15874 Protection mechanism failure in Jenkins Script Security Plugin KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.9
- TI-2019-08259 Underflow in PHP-FPM can lead to RCE KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2019-05363 Code injection in Elastic Kibana KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 10.0
- TI-2019-03949 Out-of-bounds write in ESXi and Horizon DaaS KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2018-16080 A code execution vulnerability exists in the Stapler web framework used by Jenkins 2.153… KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
Sources
- CVE-2026-11837 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-11837 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-49qh-h4vj-mrgf · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-11837 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences