CVE-2020-10684
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in Ansible Engine allows attackers to manipulate ansible_facts data when using specific configurations, potentially leading to privilege escalation or code injection. It affects all Ansible Engine versions 2.7.x before 2.7.17, 2.8.x before 2.8.9, and 2.9.x before 2.9.6. Users running vulnerable Ansible playbooks with inject enabled are at risk.
💻 Affected Systems
- Ansible Engine
📦 What is this software?
Ansible by Redhat
Ansible by Redhat
Ansible by Redhat
Fedora by Fedoraproject
Fedora by Fedoraproject
Fedora by Fedoraproject
Openstack by Redhat
Openstack by Redhat
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Full system compromise through privilege escalation to root/admin access, allowing arbitrary code execution and complete control over managed systems.
Likely Case
Privilege escalation within the Ansible context, allowing attackers to modify system configurations, access sensitive data, or execute unauthorized commands.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper network segmentation, least privilege principles, and monitoring of Ansible execution.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires access to modify or create Ansible playbooks and knowledge of specific vulnerable configurations.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 2.7.17, 2.8.9, or 2.9.6
Vendor Advisory: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2020-10684
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Identify current Ansible version using 'ansible --version'. 2. Upgrade to patched version: 'pip install --upgrade ansible==2.7.17' or appropriate version. 3. Verify upgrade with 'ansible --version'.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable inject feature
allAvoid using ansible_facts as a subkey of itself and disable inject where possible in playbooks.
Review playbooks for 'inject: true' configurations and modify to avoid vulnerable patterns
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict access controls to Ansible control nodes and playbook repositories
- Monitor Ansible execution logs for unusual activity or unexpected privilege escalations
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Ansible version: if running 2.7.x < 2.7.17, 2.8.x < 2.8.9, or 2.9.x < 2.9.6, you are vulnerable if using specific playbook configurations.Check Version:
ansible --versionVerify Fix Applied:
Run 'ansible --version' and confirm version is 2.7.17, 2.8.9, 2.9.6 or higher.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unexpected modifications to ansible_facts variables
- Ansible playbooks executing with elevated privileges unexpectedly
Network Indicators:
- Unusual Ansible controller to managed node communications patterns
SIEM Query:
source="ansible" AND (event="privilege_escalation" OR event="unexpected_variable_modification")🔗 References
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2020-10684
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/DKPA4KC3OJSUFASUYMG66HKJE7ADNGFW/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/MRRYUU5ZBLPBXCYG6CFP35D64NP2UB2S/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/WQVOQD4VAIXXTVQAJKTN7NUGTJFE2PCB/
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202006-11
- https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4950
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2020-10684
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/DKPA4KC3OJSUFASUYMG66HKJE7ADNGFW/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/MRRYUU5ZBLPBXCYG6CFP35D64NP2UB2S/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/WQVOQD4VAIXXTVQAJKTN7NUGTJFE2PCB/
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202006-11
- https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4950
