#VU81467 UNIX symbolic link following in Ansible - CVE-2023-5115

Vulnerability identifier: #VU81467

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 1.1 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2023-5115

CWE-ID: CWE-61

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 a symlink following issue. A local user can create a specially crafted symbolic link to files outside the application directory and overwrite them.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Ansible: 2.16.0b1

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External links
https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/81780
https://github.com/ansible/ansible/commit/fffb3c403fe6def8d07e1062c751199ca3b98b7a
https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/81783
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2242037

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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.