CVE-2025-4565VulnerabilityPublished 26 Jan 2026Updated 23 Oct 2026

Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 Product Security and Bug Fix Update

Affects Red HatSource GCVE Database

Mentioned vulnerabilities

Authoritative record:CVE-2025-4565· High 8.2

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.2 High : upgrade Red Hat protobuf to 6.31.1 soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score

8.2High

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

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 16% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 6.31.1

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Attack Requirements: Present
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Vulnerable system confidentiality: None
Vulnerable system integrity: None
Vulnerable system availability: High
Subsequent system confidentiality: None
Subsequent system integrity: None
Subsequent system availability: None

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

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable system is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed below, 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: The attacker must take no measurable action to exploit the vulnerability. The attack requires no target-specific circumvention to exploit the vulnerability. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable system.
Attack Requirements: Present: The successful attack depends on the presence of specific deployment and execution conditions of the vulnerable system that enable the attack. These include: a race condition must be won to successfully exploit the vulnerability (the successfulness of the attack is conditioned on execution conditions that are not under full control of the attacker, or the attack may need to be launched multiple times against a single target before being successful); the attacker must inject themselves into the logical network path between the target and the resource requested by the victim (e.g. vulnerabilities requiring an on-path attacker).
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files of the vulnerable system to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without interaction from any human user, other than the attacker.
Vulnerable system confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system availability: High: There is a total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the Vulnerable System; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the Vulnerable System (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).
Subsequent system confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the Subsequent System or all confidentiality impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the Subsequent System or all integrity impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Subsequent System or all availability impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v4.0 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 16 Jun 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: 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 26 Oct 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.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, 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

Upgrade protobuf to 6.31.1.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
PyPIprotobuf`pkg:pypi/protobuf`Other threats	Affected <6.31.1	Fixed in 6.31.1

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AI-suggested

An official security update is available from Red Hat addressing these vulnerabilities. Users of Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 should apply the provided updates as documented in the Red Hat advisory RHSA-2026:1249. The vendor has released fixed versions of automation-controller, python3.11-django, python3.11-protobuf, python3.11-urllib3, receptor, and related components. Follow Red Hat's official documentation for update procedures to ensure all fixes are applied. No additional mitigation steps are indicated beyond applying the official patches.

Description

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform provides an enterprise framework for building, deploying and managing IT automation at scale. IT Managers can provide top-down guidelines on how automation is applied to individual teams, while automation developers retain the freedom to write tasks that leverage existing knowledge without the overhead. Ansible Automation Platform makes it possible for users across an organization to share, vet, and manage automation content by means of a simple, powerful, and agentless language. Security Fix(es): * automation-controller: AIOHTTP HTTP Request/Response Smuggling (CVE-2025-53643) * automation-controller: AIOHTTP's HTTP Parser auto_decompress feature is vulnerable to zip bomb (CVE-2025-69223) * automation-controller: Django: Algorithmic complexity in XML Deserializer leads to denial of service (CVE-2025-64460) * automation-controller: urllib3 Streaming API improperly handles highly compressed data (CVE-2025-66471) * python3.11-django: Algorithmic complexity in XML Deserializer leads to denial of service (CVE-2025-64460) * python3.11-protobuf: Unbounded recursion in Python Protobuf (CVE-2025-4565) * python3.11-urllib3: urllib3 Streaming API improperly handles highly compressed data (CVE-2025-66471) * receptor: Excessive resource consumption when printing error string for host certificate validation in crypto/x509 (CVE-2025-61729) For more details about the security issue(s), including the impact, a CVSS score, acknowledgments, and other related information, refer to the CVE page(s) listed in the References section. Updates and fixes included: Automation Platform * Reduced cognitive complexity in _sync_user_superuser_flag (AAP-62771) * The FEATURE_GATEWAY_IPV6_USAGE_ENABLED feature flag has been removed and IPv6 support is enabled by default (AAP-61805) * Fixed an issue preventing gateway from working in a pure IPv4 single stack environment when IPv6 is enabled (AAP-60478) * Added dedicated aap.auth_audit logger with specialized formatters and handlers (AAP-60364) * Introduced new logs for authentication events (AAP-60364) * automation-gateway has been updated to 2.6.20260121 * python3.11-django-ansible-base has been updated to 2.6.20260121 Automation Platform UI * Page titles now reflect the current page content (AAP-61754) * Allow full search in resource dropdowns (AAP-57712) * Fixed an issue that occasionally showed a bad request status when navigating between different pages (AAP-56701) * Fixed filtering by name in Collections page (AAP-56529) * Fixed clear/browse button behavior in Client Certificate and Client Key (AAP-55296) * Fixed an issue where a Rulebook Activation in workers offline status could not be disabled or deleted (AAP-52714) * Fixed an issue where workflow job templates node credentials are missing after save for job template nodes that have a default credential that is promptable (AAP-52638) * Fixed an issue where the gateway UI reset the order of an auth mapping when the entity was edited by the user (AAP-52258) * Improves labels and descriptions for Authenticator Mappings details (AAP-51295) * Resolved an issue where controller unavailability rendered the entire AAP UI inaccessible (AAP-50106) * Fixed descriptions for Remotes and Remote Registries (AAP-49838) * Survey textarea "Default Answer" field now properly accepts newlines when pressing Enter (AAP-49820) * Fixed review page on Workflow Approval Nodes (AAP-49433) * Fixed editing of "Days of data to keep" value in management job schedules (AAP-48972) * Editing and saving credentials that use external credential lookup plugins (such as CyberArk) no longer fails with an error message (AAP-44813) * Fixed an issue where the SAML Service Provider extra configuration data field could not be cleared in the UI, as it would automatically reset to the default value (AAP-43661) * Resolved an issue where ad-hoc commands failed with a "Bad Request" error when using credentials configured with "Prompt on launch" for password fields (AAP-43603) * Updated modal warning message and layout when enabling a copied Rulebook Activation (AAP-42574) * automation-platform-ui has been updated to 2.6.5 Automation controller * Added runtime feature flags (AAP-62686) * automation-controller has been updated to 4.7.8 * receptor has been updated to 1.6.3 Automation hub * Autocomplete attribute added to the Automation Hub API password field (AAP-59910) * automation-hub has been updated to 4.11.5 * python3.11-galaxy-importer has been updated to 0.4.37 * python3.11-galaxy-ng has been updated to 4.11.5 * python3.11-pulpcore has been updated to 3.49.49 Event-Driven Ansible * Added x-ai-description field to the activation PATCH method (AAP-61969) * automation-eda-controller has been updated to 1.2.4 Container-based Ansible Automation Platform * Added lTLS support to lightspeed chatbot service (AAP-60900) * system-prompt was optimized for granite and openai models (AAP-60898) * Added ipv6 support (AAP-60532) * Fixed an issue w

Impact

The vulnerabilities fixed in this update can lead to denial of service conditions through resource exhaustion or algorithmic complexity attacks, HTTP request/response smuggling, and improper handling of compressed data which could disrupt normal operation of the automation platform. The unbounded recursion in Python Protobuf and excessive resource consumption during certificate validation could also degrade system stability. These issues affect core components responsible for automation task execution and communication, potentially impacting availability and reliability of the platform.

Summary

This Red Hat Security Advisory (RHSA-2026:1249) addresses several vulnerabilities in Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6. Key security issues fixed include: CVE-2025-53643 (AIOHTTP HTTP request/response smuggling), CVE-2025-69223 (AIOHTTP HTTP parser zip bomb vulnerability), CVE-2025-64460 (algorithmic complexity in Django XML deserializer causing denial of service), CVE-2025-66471 (urllib3 Streaming API mishandling highly compressed data), CVE-2025-4565 (unbounded recursion in Python Protobuf), and CVE-2025-61729 (excessive resource consumption in receptor during certificate validation). These vulnerabilities impact various components of the platform, potentially leading to denial of service or resource exhaustion. The advisory provides updated package versions and numerous bug fixes. The affected product versions explicitly include Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 for RHEL 9 and 10 across multiple CPU architectures.

CWE-674Uncontrolled Recursion (opens in a new tab)
Class weakness
The product does not properly control the amount of recursion that takes place, consuming excessive resources, such as allocated memory or the program stack.
Implementation
Ensure that an end condition will be reached under all logic conditions. The end condition may include checking against the depth of recursion and exiting with an error if the recursion goes too deep. The complexity of the end condition contributes to the effectiveness of this action.
Implementation
Increase the stack size.
Attack patterns
Serialized Data with Nested Payloads (opens in a new tab)
Oversized Serialized Data Payloads (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-444Inconsistent Interpretation of HTTP Requests ('HTTP Request/Response Smuggling') (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A06:2025: Insecure Design (opens in a new tab)
The product acts as an intermediary HTTP agent (such as a proxy or firewall) in the data flow between two entities such as a client and server, but it does not interpret malformed HTTP requests or responses in ways that are consistent with how the messages will be processed by those entities that are at the ultimate destination.
Implementation
Use a web server that employs a strict HTTP parsing procedure, such as Apache.
Implementation
Use only SSL communication.
Implementation
Terminate the client session after each request.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
REST Assessment (opens in a new tab)
REST Security (opens in a new tab)
Cross-Site Request Forgery Prevention (opens in a new tab)
Secure Design Principles (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.2.5 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
HTTP Response Smuggling (opens in a new tab)
HTTP Request Smuggling (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-1050Excessive Platform Resource Consumption within a Loop (opens in a new tab)
Base weakness
The product has a loop body or loop condition that contains a control element that directly or indirectly consumes platform resources, e.g. messaging, sessions, locks, or file descriptors.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
File Upload (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V12.1.1 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-407Inefficient Algorithmic Complexity (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: Low
An algorithm in a product has an inefficient worst-case computational complexity that may be detrimental to system performance and can be triggered by an attacker, typically using crafted manipulations that ensure that the worst case is being reached.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
File Upload (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V12.1.1 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-409Improper Handling of Highly Compressed Data (Data Amplification) (opens in a new tab)
Base weakness
The product does not handle or incorrectly handles a compressed input with a very high compression ratio that produces a large output.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
File Upload (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V12.1.2 (opens in a new tab)
V12.1.1 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).
CWE-770Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #25
The product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated.
Requirements
Clearly specify the minimum and maximum expectations for capabilities, and dictate which behaviors are acceptable when resource allocation reaches limits.
Architecture and Design
Limit the amount of resources that are accessible to unprivileged users. Set per-user limits for resources. Allow the system administrator to define these limits. Be careful to avoid CWE-410.
Architecture and Design
Design throttling mechanisms into the system architecture. The best protection is to limit the amount of resources that an unauthorized user can cause to be expended.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Abuse Case (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V13.4.1 (opens in a new tab)
V11.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
XML Ping of the Death (opens in a new tab)
Exponential Data Expansion (opens in a new tab)
Serialized Data Parameter Blowup (opens in a new tab)
Serialized Data with Nested Payloads (opens in a new tab)
Oversized Serialized Data Payloads (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 17 Aug 2026, 17:13 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-674, CWE-444, CWE-1050 +3

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats