{"id":"CVE-2026-11837","title":"A local privilege escalation vulnerability was found in the ansible.posix authorized_key module","summary":"A local privilege escalation vulnerability was found in the ansible.posix authorized_key module. The module's keyfile() function uses os.chown() instead of os.lchown() and opens files without O_NOFOLLOW when managing SSH authorized keys.…","severity":"high","cvss":7.3,"cvssVector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","cwe":["CWE-59"],"vendor":"Red Hat","product":"rhc-worker-playbook","affected":["rhc-worker-playbook (all versions)","rhel-system-roles","rhc-worker-playbook (all versions)","rhel-system-roles","rhc-worker-playbook (all versions)","rhel-system-roles","ansible-collection-ansible-posix (all versions)","ansible-collection-ansible-posix"],"published":"2026-06-10","updated":"2026-10-13","sourceUpdated":"2026-10-13T21:17:36.880","source":"NVD","sourceUrl":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-11837","references":[{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:79112","label":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:80508","label":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:82339","label":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-11837","label":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2487424","label":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-11837","label":"0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c"},{"url":"https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2487424","label":"0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c"},{"url":"https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-11837.json","label":"0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c"},{"url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-11837"},{"url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-11837"},{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:42946","label":"RHSA-2026:42946"}],"tags":["nvd","exploit-available","cve.org","csaf","vex","red-hat"],"epss":0.00163,"epssPercentile":0.05462,"exploits":{"github":1,"githubRepos":["https://github.com/M8seven/cve-2026-11837-ansible-posix-authorized-key"],"checkedAt":"2026-10-27T16:59:15.487Z"},"exploitAvailable":true,"ssvc":{"exploitation":"none","automatable":"no","technicalImpact":"total","timestamp":"2026-06-10T13:57:35.655997Z"},"ingestedAt":"2026-09-08T18:07:34.884Z","patched":["enterprise_linux_appstream_eus_v_10_0","enterprise_linux_appstream_aus_v_8_6","enterprise_linux_appstream_eus_extension_v_8_6","enterprise_linux_appstream_e4s_v_8_8","enterprise_linux_appstream_tus_v_8_8"],"slug":"CVE-2026-11837","body":"## Overview\n\nA local privilege escalation vulnerability was found in the ansible.posix authorized_key module. The module's keyfile() function uses os.chown() instead of os.lchown() and opens files without O_NOFOLLOW when managing SSH authorized keys. An unprivileged local user can pre-stage symbolic links in their ~/.ssh directory to redirect file ownership changes to arbitrary system paths when an operator runs the authorized_key task as root, leading to local privilege escalation.\n\n## Remediation\n\nRefer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.\n\n## Vendor advisories\n\n- **RHSA-2026:79112** · Red Hat · fixed in: Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v. 10.0) · released 2026-10-08 · [advisory](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:79112)\n- **RHSA-2026:80508** · Red Hat · fixed in: Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream AUS (v.8.6), Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS EXTENSION (v.8.6) · released 2026-10-12 · [advisory](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:80508)\n- **RHSA-2026:82339** · Red Hat · fixed in: Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream E4S (v.8.8), Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream TUS (v.8.8) · released 2026-10-13 · [advisory](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:82339)\n- **Red Hat VEX** · Important · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenStack Platform 17.1 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenStack Platform 17.1 · updated 2026-10-13 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-11837.json)","depth":"midnight","depthScore":52,"depthScoreParts":{"impact":40.2,"likelihood":0,"exploitation":12,"ransomware":0},"changes":[]}