REDHAT-BUG-2487424

Published Jun 10, 2026
·
Updated

A local privilege escalation vulnerability was found in the ansible.posix authorized_key module. The keyfile() function uses os.chown() (not os.lchown()) and plain open() (no O_NOFOLLOW) when managing a user's ~/.ssh directory and authorized_keys file. An unprivileged local user can pre-stage symlinks in their ~/.ssh directory. When an operator runs the authorized_key task as root, the module follows the symlinks and changes ownership of arbitrary files/directories to the unprivileged user, enabling root escalation. This is a sibling of CVE-2024-9902 (ansible-core user module), which addressed the same symlink-following class in generate_ssh_key. The authorized_key module in the separate ansible.posix collection was not covered by that fix.

Affected Software

1 affected component
galaxy/ansible/posix

Event History

Jun 10, 2026
Data Sourced
via Red Hat·04:16 AM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of REDHAT-BUG-2487424?

The severity of REDHAT-BUG-2487424 is high with a score of 7.

2

What type of vulnerability is REDHAT-BUG-2487424?

REDHAT-BUG-2487424 is a local privilege escalation vulnerability.

3

How can an attacker exploit REDHAT-BUG-2487424?

An unprivileged local user can exploit REDHAT-BUG-2487424 by pre-staging symbolic links in the user's ~/.ssh directory.

4

How do I fix REDHAT-BUG-2487424?

To fix REDHAT-BUG-2487424, update the ansible.posix module to the latest version that addresses this vulnerability.

5

Who is affected by REDHAT-BUG-2487424?

All users of the ansible.posix authorized_key module are potentially affected by REDHAT-BUG-2487424.

Contact

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