Ansible-collection-ansible-posix: ansible.posix authorized_key: local privilege escalation via symlink-following chown
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-11837 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | redhat |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-06-10 05:16:38 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-06-30 03:17:09 UTC |
| Description | 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. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 7.3 HIGH from ADP
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS: 0.001270000 probability, percentile 0.026410000 (date 2026-06-16)
Problem Types: CWE-59 | CWE-59 Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | ADP | CVSS | 7.3 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Secondary | 7.3 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c | Secondary | 7.3 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | CNA | CVSS | 7.3 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Vendor Declared Affected Products
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat OpenStack Platform 17.1 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat OpenStack Platform 18.0 | Not specified | Not specified |
| ADP | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Not specified | Not specified |
| ADP | Red Hat | Red Hat OpenStack Platform 17.1 | Not specified | Not specified |
| ADP | Red Hat | Red Hat OpenStack Platform 18.0 | Not specified | Not specified |
| ADP | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Not specified | Not specified |
| ADP | Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Not specified | Not specified |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi | 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c | bugzilla.redhat.com | |
| security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-11837.json | 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c | security.access.redhat.com | |
| access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-11837 | 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c | access.redhat.com | |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
Vendor Comments And Credit
Discovery Credit
CNA: Red Hat would like to thank Valentino Paulon for reporting this issue. (en)
Additional Advisory Data
| Source | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| CNA | 2026-06-07T00:00:00.000Z | Reported to Red Hat. |
| CNA | 2026-06-10T00:00:00.000Z | Made public. |
| ADP | 2026-06-07T00:00:00.000Z | Reported to Red Hat. |
| ADP | 2026-06-10T00:00:00.000Z | Made public. |
Workarounds
CNA: The following practices would help for avoiding exposure and mitigate this flaw: 1) Do not run the ansible.posix authorized_key module with elevated privileges against untrusted user accounts. 2) Validate that target user home directories do not contain unexpected symbolic links before running playbooks.
ADP: The following practices would help for avoiding exposure and mitigate this flaw: 1) Do not run the ansible.posix authorized_key module with elevated privileges against untrusted user accounts. 2) Validate that target user home directories do not contain unexpected symbolic links before running playbooks.