CVE-2023-4237 is a vulnerability identified in Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.4 running on RHEL 8, specifically within the ec2_key module used for creating AWS EC2 keypairs. The flaw arises because the module prints the private key material directly to standard output during keypair creation. Since standard output is often captured in log files, this results in sensitive private keys being stored in plaintext logs. An attacker with access to these logs—potentially through low-privilege accounts or lateral movement—can retrieve the private keys, enabling unauthorized access to AWS resources. This compromises the confidentiality of the keys, potentially allowing attackers to manipulate cloud infrastructure (integrity) or disrupt services (availability). The CVSS v3.1 score is 7.3 (high), reflecting the significant impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, combined with low attack complexity and limited privileges required. Exploitation requires user interaction, such as triggering the keypair creation process, but no known exploits have been reported in the wild. The vulnerability highlights the risk of sensitive data leakage through improper logging practices in automation tools managing cloud credentials.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a serious risk to cloud infrastructure security, especially those heavily reliant on Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform for AWS environment management. Exposure of private keys can lead to unauthorized access to critical cloud resources, enabling data breaches, service disruption, or unauthorized modifications. This can affect confidentiality of sensitive data, integrity of deployed applications and infrastructure, and availability of cloud services. Organizations in sectors such as finance, healthcare, and government, which often use automation for cloud deployments, may face regulatory and reputational damage if exploited. The risk is amplified in environments where log files are accessible by multiple users or insufficiently protected. Given the widespread use of Red Hat and AWS in Europe, the potential impact is broad, affecting both private enterprises and public sector entities.

Immediate mitigation should include restricting access to log files where Ansible output is stored, ensuring only trusted administrators can view logs containing sensitive information. Organizations should audit existing logs for exposed private keys and rotate any compromised AWS keypairs promptly. Until a patch is released, avoid using the ec2_key module for keypair creation or implement custom scripts that do not output private keys to standard output. Monitor Red Hat security advisories and apply updates as soon as patches become available. Additionally, implement strict role-based access controls (RBAC) on Ansible automation environments and AWS accounts to limit the blast radius of any key compromise. Employ logging and monitoring solutions to detect unusual access patterns to logs or AWS resources. Finally, consider using AWS IAM roles and temporary credentials to reduce reliance on long-lived keypairs.