CVE-2025-7738 is a medium-severity vulnerability identified in Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 (AAP 2). The flaw arises from the Gateway API returning the client secret for certain GitHub Enterprise authenticators in clear text. This means that when privileged users such as administrators or auditors access the authenticator configurations via the Gateway API, they can see sensitive credentials without encryption or masking. Although access to these credentials is restricted to users with elevated privileges, the exposure of client secrets in clear text increases the risk of accidental disclosure or intentional misuse. The vulnerability does not require user interaction and is remotely exploitable over the network but requires high privileges (administrative or auditor level) to access the affected API endpoint. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 4.4, reflecting a medium severity primarily due to the confidentiality impact (client secrets exposed) without affecting integrity or availability. There are no known exploits in the wild at this time, and no specific affected versions were listed, but the vulnerability is confirmed in Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2. This platform is widely used for IT automation, orchestration, and configuration management, often integrated with GitHub Enterprise for source control and CI/CD pipelines. The exposure of client secrets could allow an insider or compromised privileged user to misuse GitHub Enterprise authentication tokens, potentially leading to unauthorized access to source code repositories or automation workflows.

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability can be significant, especially for enterprises relying on Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 integrated with GitHub Enterprise for their DevOps and automation processes. Exposure of client secrets could lead to unauthorized access to critical source code repositories, potentially resulting in intellectual property theft, insertion of malicious code, or disruption of automated deployment pipelines. Given that privileged users are required to access these secrets, the threat primarily concerns insider risks or attackers who have already gained elevated access. However, accidental leaks of these secrets could also occur through logs, screenshots, or misconfigured access controls. The confidentiality breach could undermine trust in automation workflows and complicate compliance with European data protection regulations such as GDPR if sensitive project data or personal data processing pipelines are affected. Furthermore, organizations in regulated sectors like finance, healthcare, and critical infrastructure may face increased scrutiny and potential penalties if such credentials are mishandled or exploited.

To mitigate this vulnerability effectively, European organizations should: 1) Immediately apply any patches or updates provided by Red Hat once available, as no patch links are currently listed but are expected. 2) Restrict access to the Gateway API and authenticator configuration interfaces strictly to the minimum necessary privileged users, implementing strong role-based access controls and auditing all access attempts. 3) Implement monitoring and alerting for unusual access patterns or downloads of authenticator configurations to detect potential misuse early. 4) Rotate client secrets and authentication tokens regularly and especially after any suspected exposure. 5) Use secure vault solutions or secret management tools integrated with Ansible Automation Platform to avoid storing sensitive credentials in clear text or accessible configurations. 6) Conduct regular security training for administrators and auditors on the risks of credential exposure and best practices for handling sensitive information. 7) Review and harden logging and screenshot policies to prevent accidental leaks of client secrets. 8) Evaluate the use of multi-factor authentication and just-in-time privileged access to reduce the risk of compromised privileged accounts.