Automation-controller: automation-controller: instance install_bundle issues 10-year, non-revocable receptor mesh-ca certificates for caller-chosen (and case-variant impersonating) hostnames

Summary

CVECVE-2026-84716
StatePUBLISHED
Assignerredhat
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-09-23 20:17:18 UTC
Updated2026-09-23 20:17:18 UTC
DescriptionA 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.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 6.6 MEDIUM from [email protected]

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N

Problem Types: CWE-266 | CWE-266 Incorrect Privilege Assignment


VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1[email protected]Primary6.6MEDIUMCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N
3.1CNACVSS6.6MEDIUMCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
High
Privileges Required
High
User Interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
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
CNA Red Hat Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 Not specified Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi [email protected] bugzilla.redhat.com
access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-84716 [email protected] access.redhat.com
CVE Program record CVE.ORG www.cve.org canonical
NVD vulnerability detail NVD nvd.nist.gov canonical, analysis

Additional Advisory Data

SourceTimeEvent
CNA2026-09-02T01:03:49.507ZReported to Red Hat.
CNA2026-09-23T00:00:00.000ZMade public.

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