CVE-2023-5115: Ansible: malicious role archive can cause ansible-galaxy to overwrite arbitrary files

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2023-5115 is a medium (CVSS 6.3) Absolute Path Traversal vulnerability in debian debian_linux. EPSS estimates a 1.01% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 63.2% of scored vulnerabilities.

Timeline

1. 18-12-2023
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 20-11-2025
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

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.

• CWE-36Absolute Path TraversalThe product uses external input to construct a pathname that should be within a restricted directory, but it does not properly neutralize absolute path sequences such as "/abs/path" that can resolve to a location that is outside of that directory.
• CWE-22Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted DirectoryThe product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.