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. 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.

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Fixes

Solution

No solution given by the vendor.


Workaround

The following practices would help for avoiding exposure and mitigate this flaw: 1) Do not run the ansible.posix authorized_key module with elevated privileges against untrusted user accounts. 2) Validate that target user home directories do not contain unexpected symbolic links before running playbooks.

History

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 14:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Wed, 10 Jun 2026 12:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

threat_severity

Important


Wed, 10 Jun 2026 11:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Redhat openstack Platform
Vendors & Products Redhat openstack Platform

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 05:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description 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. 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.
Title Ansible-collection-ansible-posix: ansible.posix authorized_key: local privilege escalation via symlink-following chown
First Time appeared Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux
Redhat openstack
Weaknesses CWE-59
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:openstack:17.1
cpe:/a:redhat:openstack:18.0
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9
Vendors & Products Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux
Redhat openstack
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.3, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}


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cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: redhat

Published:

Updated: 2026-06-10T15:01:09.531Z

Reserved: 2026-06-10T04:10:05.146Z

Link: CVE-2026-11837

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-06-10T13:58:01.875Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-06-10T05:16:38.510

Modified: 2026-06-10T05:16:38.510

Link: CVE-2026-11837

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Important

Publid Date: 2026-06-10T00:00:00Z

Links: CVE-2026-11837 - Bugzilla

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-06-10T11:21:19Z

Weaknesses