CVE-2018-16837: High severity redhat Ansible Engine vulnerability

Published Oct 18, 2018
·
Updated

"User" module leaks any data which is passed on as a parameter to ssh-keygen. This could lean in undesirable situations such as passphrases credentials passed as a parameter for the ssh-keygen executable. Showing those credentials in clear text form for every user which have access just to the process list.

Affected Software

18 affected componentsFixes available
redhat/ansible-engine<2.7.1
2.7.1
redhat/ansible-engine<2.6.7
2.6.7
redhat/ansible-engine<2.5.11
2.5.11
pip/ansible>=0<2.5.11
2.5.11
pip/ansible>=2.6.0a1<2.6.7
2.6.7
pip/ansible>=2.7.0a1<2.7.1
2.7.1
redhat Ansible Engine=2.0
redhat Ansible Engine=2.5
redhat Ansible Engine=2.6
redhat Ansible Engine=2.7
redhat Ansible Tower=3.3.0
Debian Debian Linux=8.0
Debian Debian Linux=9.0
All of the following
SUSE Package Hub
SUSE Linux Enterprise=12.0
SUSE Package Hub
SUSE Linux Enterprise=12.0
debian/ansible
2.10.7+merged+base+2.10.17+dfsg-0+deb11u12.10.7+merged+base+2.10.17+dfsg-0+deb11u47.7.0+dfsg-3+deb12u112.0.0+dfsg-0+deb13u113.4.0+dfsg-1

Event History

Oct 23, 2018
CVE Published
via MITRE·03:00 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·03:00 PM
DescriptionSeverityWeakness
May 13, 2022
Advisory Published
via GitHub·01:50 AM
Jan 11, 2024
Data Sourced
via Launchpad·10:54 PM
Description
Feb 20, 2026
Data Sourced
via Ubuntu·12:40 AM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Mar 18, 2026
Data Sourced
via Debian·01:00 AM
DescriptionAffected Software
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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is CVE-2018-16837?

CVE-2018-16837 is a vulnerability in the Ansible "User" module that leaks any data passed as a parameter to ssh-keygen.

2

What is the severity level of CVE-2018-16837?

The severity level of CVE-2018-16837 is high.

3

Which software versions are affected by CVE-2018-16837?

The affected software versions include Ansible 2.5.1, 2.8.0, 2.0.0.2-2ubuntu1.3, 2.7.1, 2.6.7, and Redhat Ansible Engine 2.0, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, and Redhat Ansible Tower 3.3.0.

4

How can I fix CVE-2018-16837?

To fix CVE-2018-16837, update Ansible to versions 2.7.7+dfsg-1+deb10u1, 2.10.7+merged+base+2.10.8+dfsg-1, 7.3.0+dfsg-1, or 7.7.0+dfsg-3.

5

Where can I find more information about CVE-2018-16837?

You can find more information about CVE-2018-16837 at the following references: [MITRE CVE](https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2018-16837), [Red Hat Bugzilla](https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-16837), and [Ansible GitHub Pull Request](https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/47436).

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