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Fencer Vulns
high 7.3

CVE-2026-11837 json

Ansible-collection-ansible-posix: ansible.posix authorized_key: local privilege escalation via symlink-following chown

published 2026-06-10 5 mo ago modified 2026-11-04 4 d ago also EUVD-2026-35982

cvss
7.3
version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
0.2%
EPSS 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 5%
public exploits
0
none known

Summary

A local privilege escalation vulnerability was found in the ansible.posix authorized_key module. The module's keyfile() function uses os.chown() instead of os.lchown() and opens files without O_NOFOLLOW when managing SSH authorized keys. An unprivileged local user can pre-stage symbolic links in their ~/.ssh directory to redirect file ownership changes to arbitrary system paths when an operator runs the authorized_key task as root, leading to local privilege escalation.

Patch / fix

  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 0:0.2.10-1.el10_2
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support 0:0.2.3-6.el10_0.2
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support 0:0.1.8-2.el8_6.1
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update Support Long-Life Add-On 0:0.1.8-2.el8_6.1
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Telecommunications Update Service 0:0.1.8-5.el8_8.1
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Update Services for SAP Solutions 0:0.1.8-5.el8_8.1
  • rhc-worker-playbook RHEL 8.8 TUS, RHEL 8.8 E4S 0.1.8-5.el8_8.1
  • rhc-worker-playbook RHEL 8.6 EUS_LONG_LIFE, RHEL 8.6 AUS 0.1.8-2.el8_6.1
  • rhc-worker-playbook enterprise linux eus 10.0 0.2.3-6.el10_0.2

red hat advisories RHSA-2026:82339RHSA-2026:80508RHSA-2026:79112

Vendor advisories

What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.

red hat product security vex CVE-2026-11837 updated cvss 7.3

ansible-collection-ansible-posix: ansible.posix authorized_key: local privilege escalation via symlink-following chown

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 rhc-worker-playbook Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 rhc-worker-playbook Red Hat OpenStack Platform 17.1 ansible-collection-ansible-posix
    affected: workaround, no fix available
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 10) rhc-worker-playbook 0.2.10-1.el10_2
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2026:42946
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream AUS (v.8.6) rhc-worker-playbook 0.1.8-2.el8_6.1
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2026:80508
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream E4S (v.8.8) rhc-worker-playbook 0.1.8-5.el8_8.1
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2026:82339
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v. 10.0) rhc-worker-playbook 0.2.3-6.el10_0.2
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2026:79112
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS EXTENSION (v.8.6) rhc-worker-playbook 0.1.8-2.el8_6.1
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2026:80508
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream TUS (v.8.8) rhc-worker-playbook 0.1.8-5.el8_8.1
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2026:82339
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 rhel-system-roles Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 rhel-system-roles Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 rhel-system-roles
    not affected: component not present
show 1 more
  • Red Hat OpenStack Platform 18.0 ansible-collection-ansible-posix
    not affected: vulnerable code not in execute path

Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf

CISA SSVC

Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Technical impact
total
Assessed
4 mo ago

Exploit prediction

0.16% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 5% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
CNA 3.1 7.3 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CISA ADP 3.1 7.3 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected products

  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update Support Long-Life Add-On
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Telecommunications Update Service
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Update Services for SAP Solutions
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
  • Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
  • Red Hat Red Hat OpenStack Platform 17.1
  • Red Hat Red Hat OpenStack Platform 18.0

Classification

Weakness
  • CWE-59 Improper Link Resolution Before File Access

References

Sources

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.