Awx: websocket eventconsumer missing authorization for inventory_update_events, project_update_events, and system_job_events allows cross-organization stdout disclosure
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-16544 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | redhat |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-07-22 12:17:10 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-07-22 18:16:59 UTC |
| Description | A flaw was found in AWX. The websocket event consumer performs RBAC authorization checks only for event groups that are mapped in the consumer_access() function (job_events, workflow_events, ad_hoc_command_events). Three event groups - inventory_update_events, project_update_events, and system_job_events — are not mapped, causing the authorization check to be skipped. Any authenticated user can subscribe to these unmapped websocket event groups for any object ID and receive real-time stdout output from jobs belonging to organizations they have no access to. This is an incomplete remediation of CVE-2020-10698. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 6.5 MEDIUM from [email protected]
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Problem Types: CWE-862 | CWE-862 Missing Authorization
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Secondary | 6.5 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N |
| 3.1 | CNA | CVSS | 6.5 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Vendor Declared Affected Products
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | Not specified | Not specified |
| CNA | Red Hat | Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 | Not specified | Not specified |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi | [email protected] | bugzilla.redhat.com | |
| access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-16544 | [email protected] | 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 Ta Duc Thien (Ninh Thanh Security team (NTCS)) for reporting this issue. (en)
Additional Advisory Data
| Source | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| CNA | 2026-07-22T09:56:58.086Z | Reported to Red Hat. |
| CNA | 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z | Made public. |
Workarounds
CNA: The following practices would help for avoiding exposure and mitigate this flaw: - Restrict AWX/Controller user account creation to only trusted individuals. Since any authenticated user can exploit this flaw regardless of role, minimizing the number of user accounts reduces the attack surface. - Use external authentication (LDAP, SAML, OIDC) with strict group mappings to prevent self-registration and ensure only authorized users can log in. - Review the list of AWX/Controller users and remove or deactivate any accounts that are no longer needed. - Monitor websocket connections and subscriptions for unusual patterns, such as a user subscribing to inventory_update_events or project_update_events for object IDs outside their organization. - Avoid embedding credentials in SCM URLs or inventory source configurations, as these may appear in stdout output. Use credential objects instead. - Apply network segmentation to restrict access to the AWX/Controller web interface to trusted networks only.