#VU100998 Incorrect authorization in Ansible - CVE-2024-9902

Vulnerability identifier: #VU100998

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 4.2 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2024-9902

CWE-ID: CWE-863

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
Ansible
Server applications / Remote management servers, RDP, SSH

Vendor: Red Hat Inc.

Description

The vulnerability allows a local user to escalate privileges on the system.

The vulnerability exists due to an error within the ansible-core `user` module. A local user can silently create or replace the contents of any file on any system path and take ownership of it when a privileged user executes the `user` module against the unprivileged user's home directory. If the unprivileged user has traversal permissions on the directory containing the exploited target file, they retain full control over the contents of the file as its owner.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Ansible: 2.14.0 rc1 - 2.18.0b1

---

External links
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2318271

---

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

No. This vulnerability can be exploited locally. The attacker should have authentication credentials and successfully authenticate on the system.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.