CVE-2026-126644 (GCVE-0-2026-126644)
Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-11-12 10:50 – Updated: 2026-11-12 10:50
VLAI
EPSS
VEX
Title
Ansible.posix: authorized_key module follows a parent-directory symlink allowing writes outside the intended directory
Summary
A link-following flaw was found in the authorized_key module of the ansible.posix collection, residual to the fix for CVE-2026-11837. That fix guards only the final path component (os.chown with follow_symlinks=False and O_NOFOLLOW in _safe_open_write()). When an unprivileged local user replaces their ~/.ssh directory with a symlink to a directory they do not own, and an operator subsequently runs the authorized_key task as root (a common provisioning pattern), the module resolves its path operations through the symlink: atomic_move() writes the temporary file in the symlink target and renames it to <target>/authorized_keys, creating or overwriting a file in the attacker-chosen directory, and os.chmod(sshdir, 0o700) follows the symlink and changes the target directory's permissions. The written file is chowned to the unprivileged user, so this is not a privilege escalation, but it allows an attacker to create or overwrite files (for example in /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/, which APT reads regardless of file ownership) to cause integrity and availability impacts.
Severity
CWE
- CWE-59 - Improper Link Resolution Before File Access
Assigner
References
2 references
| URL | Tags |
|---|---|
| https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-126644 | vdb-entryx_refsource_REDHAT |
| https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2571732 | issue-trackingx_refsource_REDHAT |
Impacted products
2 products
| Vendor | Product | Version | CPE status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 |
cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:10
|
||
| Red Hat | Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 |
cpe:/a:redhat:enterprise_linux:9
|
Date Public
2026-11-11 14:33
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Browse all ATT&CK techniques and the vulnerabilities related to each.
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