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Ansible EngineApplication · Redhat

CVE-2019-14858

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-10-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 3.5.0 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
A vulnerability was found in Ansible engine 2.x up to 2.8 and Ansible tower 3.x up to 3.5. When a module has an argument_spec with sub parameters marked as no_log, passing an invalid parameter name to the module will cause the task to fail before the no_log options in the sub parameters are processed. As a result, data in the sub parameter fields will not be masked and will be displayed if Ansible is run with increased verbosity and present in the module invocation arguments for the task.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

In Ansible engine 2.x up to 2.8 and Tower 3.x up to 3.5, when a module uses argument_spec with sub-parameters marked as no_log, passing an invalid parameter name causes the task to fail prematurely before no_log processing occurs. This allows sensitive data in sub-parameter fields to be exposed in verbose output and module invocation arguments, creating an information disclosure risk.

MitigationUpgrade Ansible engine to version 2.9 or later, and Ansible Tower to version 3.6 or later, to ensure no_log directives are processed before task validation fails.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Ansible EngineApplication
Affected:>= 2.0, <= 2.8.0
Ansible TowerApplication
Affected:>= 3.0, <= 3.5.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check installed Ansible Engine version
    Run 'ansible --version' or 'python -m ansible --version' to get the exact version number
    Affected if Version is 2.0 through 2.8.0 inclusive
  2. Check installed Ansible Tower version
    Access Tower UI admin interface or run 'awx-manage version' from the Tower host
    Affected if Version is 3.0 through 3.5.0 inclusive
  3. Identify playbooks using argument_spec with no_log sub-parameters
    Search playbook files for 'argument_specs' or 'argument_spec' containing 'no_log: true' on nested/sub-parameters
    Affected if Playbooks contain argument_spec definitions with no_log-marked sub-parameters
  4. Review task output logs for sensitive data exposure
    Examine verbose Ansible output (ansible-playbook -v or -vvv) for task failures where sub-parameter values appear in error messages
    Affected if Verbose output shows raw sub-parameter values that should have been redacted by no_log
  5. Check for task validation failures with argument errors
    Look for task failures citing 'unsupported parameters' or 'invalid parameters' occurring with modules using argument_spec
    Affected if Tasks fail validation on argument names while using modules with no_log sub-parameters

A system is affected if it runs Ansible Engine 2.0-2.8.0 or Tower 3.0-3.5.0 and uses argument_spec with no_log-marked sub-parameters, with task failures exposing those values in output.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 3.5.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Ansible engine to version 2.9 or later, and Ansible Tower to version 3.6 or later, to ensure no_log directives are processed before task validation fails.

Fix this in Ansible Engine Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,080
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,328.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2019-14858 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data