Ansible TowerApplication · Redhat
CVE-2020-10709
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 · uneditedA security flaw was found in Ansible Tower when requesting an OAuth2 token with an OAuth2 application. Ansible Tower uses the token to provide authentication. This flaw allows an attacker to obtain a refresh token that does not expire. The original token granted to the user still has access to Ansible Tower, which allows any user that can gain access to the token to be fully authenticated to Ansible Tower. This flaw affects Ansible Tower versions before 3.6.4 and Ansible Tower versions before 3.5.6.
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 confidenceAnsible Tower contains a flaw in OAuth2 token handling where refresh tokens issued through OAuth2 applications do not expire. An attacker who obtains a refresh token can use it to maintain persistent authenticated access to Ansible Tower, as the original token remains valid even after the intended expiration period.
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 TowerApplication
< 3.5.6>= 3.6.0, < 3.6.4CVSS 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
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Determine Ansible Tower versionRun 'awx-manage --version' from the Tower CLI or check the Tower UI under 'Settings > About > Version'. Alternatively, check the RPM package: 'rpm -qa ansible-tower' or 'rpm -qa awx'Affected if Version is less than 3.5.6 OR version is 3.6.0, 3.6.1, 3.6.2, or 3.6.3 (i.e., falls within < 3.5.6 or >= 3.6.0 < 3.6.4)
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Confirm OAuth2 applications are in useIn the Tower UI, navigate to 'Settings > Authentication > OAuth 2' or use the API endpoint '/api/v2/oauth_apps/' to list OAuth2 applications. Check if any OAuth2 applications exist.Affected if OAuth2 applications are configured and the Tower version is vulnerable as above
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Verify token settings via APIQuery the API endpoint '/api/v2/settings/authentication/' and look for OAuth2 token expiration settings, or check '/api/v2/oauth_authorization/' for token configuration. Refresh tokens should expire but may not in affected versions.Affected if Refresh tokens show no expiration (null/0) or the token validity settings allow indefinite refresh tokens on a vulnerable version
You are affected if your Ansible Tower version is vulnerable (below 3.5.6 or between 3.6.0 and 3.6.3 inclusive) AND you have OAuth2 applications configured that could issue non-expiring refresh tokens.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 data3.5.63.6.4
Upgrade Ansible Tower to version 3.5.6 or 3.6.4 or later to patch the OAuth2 token expiration vulnerability.
Fix this in Ansible Tower
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,408.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-10709 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-10709 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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