CVE-2023-5764 is a template injection vulnerability identified in Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.4 running on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8. The root cause lies in the internal templating engine used by the Ansible controller, where the mechanism that marks template data as unsafe can be improperly neutralized or bypassed. This flaw allows an attacker who can supply template data—typically through files or inputs processed by the controller—to inject malicious template code. Because Ansible uses Jinja2 templating extensively for automation tasks, this injection can lead to arbitrary code execution within the controller's environment. The vulnerability requires local access with low privileges (AV:L, PR:L) but does not require user interaction (UI:N). The CVSS score of 7.1 reflects high impact on confidentiality and integrity, as an attacker could potentially read or modify sensitive automation workflows or credentials managed by Ansible. However, availability is not impacted. No public exploits or active exploitation have been reported yet, but the vulnerability poses a significant risk due to the critical role Ansible plays in automating IT infrastructure. The lack of patch links suggests that remediation may require vendor updates or configuration changes to restrict template input sources. Organizations relying on Ansible for orchestration and configuration management should assess their exposure and apply mitigations promptly.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a serious risk to the confidentiality and integrity of automated workflows and sensitive data managed by Ansible Automation Platform. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code on the Ansible controller, potentially leading to unauthorized access to credentials, manipulation of infrastructure configurations, and lateral movement within the network. This is particularly critical for sectors relying heavily on automation for infrastructure management, such as finance, telecommunications, energy, and government. Since Ansible is widely used in enterprise environments across Europe, the vulnerability could disrupt critical services if exploited. The requirement for local access limits remote exploitation but insider threats or compromised accounts could leverage this flaw. The absence of known exploits provides a window for proactive defense, but the high severity demands immediate attention to prevent potential breaches.

1. Apply official patches or updates from Red Hat as soon as they become available for Ansible Automation Platform 2.4 on RHEL 8. 2. Restrict access to the Ansible controller to trusted administrators only, enforcing strict access controls and monitoring. 3. Implement file integrity monitoring on template files and inputs to detect unauthorized modifications or suspicious files. 4. Use role-based access control (RBAC) within Ansible to limit who can supply or modify templates. 5. Audit and review all template files and automation scripts for unsafe or untrusted inputs. 6. Consider isolating the Ansible controller in a hardened environment with minimal network exposure. 7. Employ logging and alerting on anomalous template processing activities to detect exploitation attempts early. 8. Educate administrators about the risks of template injection and enforce secure coding practices in automation scripts. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on controlling template input sources, access restrictions, and proactive monitoring tailored to this vulnerability's nature.