VulnerabilityPublished 12 Nov 2026

CVE-2026-71363: Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 · Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality

Affects Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2Source CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.3 Medium.

Data as of 12 Nov 2026, 17:36 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.3Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

Thin evidence

One scorer or none

CVSS scores by source
CNA (redhat)	CVSS 3.1	5.3

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: None
Availability: Low

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 12 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 12 Nov 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2ansible-automation-platform-26/controller-rhel9	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2ansible-automation-platform-27/controller-rhel9	Affected–	Fixed in–
Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2automation-controller	Affected–	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

There is currently no complete mitigation other than applying the update when it becomes available. In the meantime, customers should restrict network access to the Automation Controller API (/api/) to trusted networks and authenticated clients using firewall rules or reverse proxy configurations. Additionally, configure reverse proxies or web application firewalls to block requests to /api/debug/* paths. For Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 and later, ensure the Automation Controller API is not directly accessible bypassing the Platform Gateway, which provides an additional authentication layer.

Description

CVE-2026-71363 is a vulnerability in Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2's AWX component where unauthenticated access to debug API endpoints allows repeated invocation of scheduler operations. This can lead to resource exhaustion and degraded service availability due to database advisory locks and open transactions. The vulnerability is rated medium severity with a CVSS score of 5.3. No complete mitigation exists except applying a future update; meanwhile, restricting network access and blocking debug API paths can reduce exposure.

Impact

The vulnerability allows unauthenticated remote attackers to trigger scheduler operations that acquire database advisory locks and open transactions repeatedly, leading to resource exhaustion and degraded service availability. There is no impact on confidentiality or integrity. The advisory locking mechanism limits parallel execution, reducing the severity to service degradation rather than full denial of service or data compromise.

Summary

A security flaw in AWX, part of Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2, involves debug API endpoints (/api/debug/task_manager/, /api/debug/dependency_manager/, /api/debug/workflow_manager/) that are registered without authentication and use an AllowAny permission class with _ignore_model_permissions=True. This allows unauthenticated remote attackers to invoke scheduler operations that acquire database advisory locks and open transactions repeatedly, potentially causing resource exhaustion and degraded availability. The advisory locking mechanism serializes concurrent invocations, limiting resource consumption per request and thus limiting the impact to service degradation rather than full compromise. In versions 2.5 and later, an additional authentication layer via the Platform Gateway may prevent unauthenticated access depending on deployment. Red Hat recommends restricting network access to trusted networks and blocking debug API paths via firewall or reverse proxy.

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 12 Nov 2026, 17:36 UTC

Technical details

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