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No exploitation reportedFix available

CVE-2023-5115

Ansible: malicious role archive can cause ansible-galaxy to overwrite arbitrary files

No exploitation reported by the sources we read.

  • Published2023-12-18
  • Fixed in8.5.0
  • WeaknessCWE-22 · CWE-36

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

Description

An absolute path traversal attack exists in the Ansible automation platform. This flaw allows an attacker to craft a malicious Ansible role and make the victim execute the role. A symlink can be used to overwrite a file outside of the extraction path.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2023-12-1813:43CVE publishedCNA

Versions per branch

OSV · NVD
ansible
BranchAffectedFixed in
8.5< 8.5.08.5.0
Redhat ansible automation platformversion to verify
BranchAffectedFixed in
1.2= 1.2no fix published
2.3= 2.3no fix published
2.4= 2.4no fix published
Redhat ansible developerversion to verify
BranchAffectedFixed in
1.0= 1.0no fix published
1.1= 1.1no fix published

2 more products in the sources.

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Products declared by the CNA5 products

As redhat, the CNA that assigned this CVE, declared them in the CVE record; versions as written.

Source: the CNA record (CVE Program), © The MITRE Corporation,CVE Terms of UseCVE recordupdated 2026-11-07

Distribution builds and vendor advisories

Packages from OSV.dev and products from the vendors' CSAF advisories.

version not verifiedVersions not verified: read as OSV.dev and the vendors publish them, not checked against each vendor's release list.

Packages

  • ansibleUbuntu:Pro:22.04:LTSall versions · no fixed version listed
  • ansibleUbuntu:Pro:20.04:LTSall versions · no fixed version listed
  • ansibleUbuntu:Pro:18.04:LTSall versions · no fixed version listed
  • ansibleUbuntu:Pro:16.04:LTSall versions · no fixed version listed
  • ansibleUbuntu:Pro:14.04:LTSall versions · no fixed version listed
  • ansibleUbuntu:26.10all versions · no fixed version listedand 1 other package
  • ansibleUbuntu:26.04:LTSall versions · no fixed version listedand 1 other package
  • ansibleUbuntu:25.10all versions · no fixed version listedand 1 other package

40 more package ranges on OSV.dev

Full record on NVD

Fix

  1. Update ansible to 8.5.0

Advisories and patches

Detection

Nuclei template
none so far
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
no entry
Exploit-DB
Proof of concept
Metasploit modules
none listed
Metasploit Framework

Sources

  • CNACVSS 3.16.32026-11-07
  • NVDCVSS 3.16.3read 2026-11-07
  • CNAweakness (CWE)CWE-362026-11-07
  • NVDweakness (CWE)CWE-22read 2026-11-07
  • FIRST EPSSEPSS score1.0 %2026-11-08
  • OSVaffected packages—
  • GitHub AdvisoriesadvisoryMODERATE2023-12-29

Identifiers

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:N
Published
2023-12-18
Last Modified
2026-11-07
NVD status
Modified
GitHub Advisory
GHSA-jpvw-p8pr-9g2x

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-5115?

An absolute path traversal attack exists in the Ansible automation platform. This flaw allows an attacker to craft a malicious Ansible role and make the victim execute the role. A symlink can be used to overwrite a file outside of the extraction path.

Is CVE-2023-5115 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2023-5115 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 1.0% on 2026-11-08, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2023-5115?

CVE-2023-5115 has a CVSS v3 base score of 6.3 (MEDIUM severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:N.

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