Riskcovery

CVE-2026-11837

Ansible-collection-ansible-posix: ansible.posix authorized_key: local privilege escalation via symlink-following chown

State
Published
Severity
7.3 High
Published
Jun 10, 2026
Updated
Oct 29, 2026
Reserved
Jun 10, 2026

Read the record on cve.org

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.

Scores

CVSSScoreVectorSource
3.17.3 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hredhat
3.17.3 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hredhat-SADP

Weaknesses

  • CWE-59 Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')

Affected Products

ProductVersions
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10Red Hat
  • 0:0.2.10-1.el10_2 and laterNot affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update SupportRed Hat
  • 0:0.2.3-6.el10_0.2 and laterNot affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Advanced Mission Critical Update SupportRed Hat
  • 0:0.1.8-2.el8_6.1 and laterNot affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update Support Long-Life Add-OnRed Hat
  • 0:0.1.8-2.el8_6.1 and laterNot affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Telecommunications Update ServiceRed Hat
  • 0:0.1.8-5.el8_8.1 and laterNot affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Update Services for SAP SolutionsRed Hat
  • 0:0.1.8-5.el8_8.1 and laterNot affected
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10Red Hat
    Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8Red Hat
      Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8Red Hat
        Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9Red Hat
          Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9Red Hat
            Red Hat OpenStack Platform 17.1Red Hat
              Red Hat OpenStack Platform 18.0Red Hat

                References

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