CVE-2026-123037: Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 · Improper Link Resolution Before File Access
Affects Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2Source CVE Database V5
Mentioned vulnerabilities
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.7 Medium.
Data as of 6 Nov 2026, 05:53 UTC
Thin evidence
One scorer or none| CNA (redhat) | CVSS 3.1 | 6.7 |
|---|
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 6 Nov 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 5 Nov 2026.
What to do
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2ansible-automation-platform-24/hub-rhel8 | Affected– | Fixed in– |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2ansible-automation-platform-24/lightspeed-rhel8 | Affected– | Fixed in– |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2ansible-automation-platform-25/controller-rhel8-operator | Affected– | Fixed in– |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2ansible-automation-platform-25/de-minimal-rhel8 | Affected– | Fixed in– |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2ansible-automation-platform-25/de-supported-rhel8 | Affected– | Fixed in– |
| Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2ansible-automation-platform-25/eda-controller-rhel8 | Affected– | Fixed in– |
AI-suggested
Do not use generate_ssh_key: yes against accounts whose home directory is controlled by untrusted users. Pre-create the ~/.ssh directory as a real directory owned appropriately before running the module. Alternatively, generate the SSH key as the target account itself (dropping to its uid/gid) rather than as root. These mitigations prevent exploitation of the symlink vulnerability.
Description
CVE-2026-123037 is a vulnerability in the ansible-core user module of Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2. When the generate_ssh_key option is enabled, the module improperly checks the ~/.ssh directory using os.path.exists() without guarding against symlinks. An unprivileged user on a managed node can replace their ~/.ssh directory with a symlink to a root-writable directory, causing the privileged module to write SSH key files through the symlink and change ownership to the user. This can lead to local privilege escalation if the generated files are placed in directories processed by schedulers or dynamic MOTD scripts. This issue is an incomplete fix of CVE-2024-9902. Exploitation requires an existing unprivileged account and subsequent execution of the user module with generate_ssh_key enabled by an administrator.