CVE-2023-4237
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in Ansible Automation Platform's ec2_key module exposes private keys in standard output when creating new keypairs. Attackers can extract these keys from log files, potentially compromising AWS EC2 instances. Organizations using Ansible Automation Platform with the vulnerable ec2_key module are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Ansible Automation Platform
- Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete compromise of AWS EC2 instances via stolen private keys, leading to data theft, resource hijacking, and lateral movement within cloud environments.
Likely Case
Unauthorized access to specific EC2 instances where exposed private keys are used, potentially resulting in data exposure and service disruption.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if logs are properly secured with restricted access and monitoring, though risk remains if logs are ever exposed.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires access to log files containing the ec2_key module output. This typically requires some level of system access or log exposure.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Fixed in updates referenced in RHBA-2023:5653 and RHBA-2023:5666
Vendor Advisory: https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-4237
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Update Ansible Automation Platform using Red Hat's official channels. 2. Apply the patches referenced in RHBA-2023:5653 and RHBA-2023:5666. 3. Verify the update was successful by checking version and testing ec2_key functionality.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable ec2_key module logging
linuxConfigure Ansible to not log sensitive output from the ec2_key module
ansible-config set DEFAULT_STDOUT_CALLBACK=actionable
ansible-config set DEFAULT_CALLBACK_WHITELIST=actionable
Secure log file permissions
linuxRestrict access to Ansible log files containing sensitive output
chmod 600 /var/log/ansible.log
chown root:root /var/log/ansible.log
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Rotate all AWS keypairs created with the vulnerable ec2_key module
- Implement strict access controls and monitoring for Ansible log files
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if Ansible version is prior to the fixes in RHBA-2023:5653 and RHBA-2023:5666, and review if ec2_key module has been usedCheck Version:
ansible --versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify Ansible version is updated and test ec2_key module to confirm private keys are no longer printed to stdout📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Private key strings in Ansible log files
- ec2_key module execution with BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY or similar patterns in output
Network Indicators:
- Unauthorized SSH connections to EC2 instances using newly created keypairs
SIEM Query:
source="ansible.log" AND "BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY"🔗 References
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHBA-2023:5653
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHBA-2023:5666
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-4237
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2229979
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHBA-2023:5653
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHBA-2023:5666
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-4237
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2229979
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20241025-0002/
