GHSA-wwwh-47wp-m522 CVE-2015-6240 PYSEC-2017-3

Ansible Sandbox Escape via Symlink Attack

High PyPI

Severity: 0.0 / 10; High · CVSS 4.0
Exploit chance (EPSS): 0.45%; Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Higher than 38.88% of scored vulnerabilities.
Known exploited: No; Not in CISA's catalog
Weakness: CWE-59 Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
Fix: 1.9.2; Upgrade ansible to this version or later

Description

The chroot, jail, and zone connection plugins in ansible before 1.9.2 allow local users to escape a restricted environment via a symlink attack.

Affected versions

PyPI

Package	Vulnerable	Fixed in
ansible	`< 1.9.2`	`1.9.2`
ansible	`< 1.9.2`	`1.9.2`

How to fix

Move to the fixed version or later with your package manager, update the lockfile, and run your tests. If the package only arrives through another dependency, upgrade that dependency first. If none of its releases pulls a fixed version yet, force the version with your package manager's override.

ansible PyPI → `1.9.2`

pip

pip install --upgrade "ansible>=1.9.2"

poetry

poetry add "ansible>=1.9.2"

uv

uv add "ansible>=1.9.2"

Severity breakdown

CVSS 4.0 0.0

CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Attack vector: Local
Attack complexity: Low
Attack requirements: None
Privileges required: Low
User interaction: None
Confidentiality (vulnerable system): High
Integrity (vulnerable system): High
Availability (vulnerable system): High
Confidentiality (subsequent systems): None
Integrity (subsequent systems): None
Availability (subsequent systems): None

CVSS 3.0 7.8

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack vector: Local
Attack complexity: Low
Privileges required: Low
User interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: High

Weakness

CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')

The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.

How to prevent it

Architecture and Design: Follow the principle of least privilege when assigning access rights to entities in a software system. Denying access to a file can prevent an attacker from replacing that file with a link to a sensitive file. Ensure good compartmentalization in the system to provide protected areas that can be trusted.

References

Advisories

Packages

github.com/ansible/ansible

Timeline

Jun 7, 2017 Published
Jun 10, 2026 Last updated by the source
Nov 1, 2026 Latest EPSS score

Advisory	Severity	Why it's related
GHSA-8ggh-xwr9-3373 Ansible Community General Collection is vulnerable to exposure of sensitive information	Medium	Also affects ansible
GHSA-jpvw-p8pr-9g2x Ansible symlink attack vulnerability	Medium	Also affects ansible
GHSA-cpx3-93w7-457x Ansible leaks password to logs	High	Also affects ansible
GHSA-fh5v-5f35-2rv2 Insertion of Sensitive Information into Log File in ansible	Medium	Also affects ansible
GHSA-4r65-35qq-ch8j Ansible discloses sensitive information in traceback error message	Medium	Also affects ansible
GHSA-2pfh-q76x-gwvm Improper Input Validation and Command Injection in Ansible	High	Also affects ansible
PYSEC-2021-126 A flaw was found in Ansible if an ansible user sets ANSIBLE_ASYNC_DIR to a subdirectory of a world writable directory.	Not rated yet	Also affects ansible
GHSA-r6h7-5pq2-j77h Insufficiently random values in Ansible	Medium	Also affects ansible

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