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Ansible EngineApplication · Redhat

CVE-2020-14365

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-09-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 3.7.2 or later.
See remediation →
73/100
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 flaw was found in the Ansible Engine, in ansible-engine 2.8.x before 2.8.15 and ansible-engine 2.9.x before 2.9.13, when installing packages using the dnf module. GPG signatures are ignored during installation even when disable_gpg_check is set to False, which is the default behavior. This flaw leads to malicious packages being installed on the system and arbitrary code executed via package installation scripts. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to integrity and system availability.

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

The Ansible Engine's dnf module ignores GPG signature verification during package installation even when disable_gpg_check is set to False (the default). This allows unsigned or maliciously signed packages to be installed, enabling arbitrary code execution through package installation scripts and compromising system integrity.

MitigationUpdate Ansible Engine to version 2.8.15 or later (2.8.x) or 2.9.13 or later (2.9.x). Prior to updating, audit dnf module playbooks for any recently installed packages and monitor for suspicious activity.

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:>= 2.8.0, <= 2.8.15>= 2.9.0, <= 2.9.13
Ansible TowerApplication
Affected:>= 3.6.0, <= 3.6.5>= 3.7.0, <= 3.7.2= 3.0
Ceph StorageApplication
Affected:= 2.0= 3.0
Openstack PlatformApplication
Affected:= 10.0= 13.0
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 10.0

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
None
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

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 Ansible Engine version
    Run 'ansible --version' to see the installed Ansible Engine version. For Ansible Tower, check the Tower UI under 'Settings > About' or run 'awx-manage --version'.
    Affected if The installed version is 2.8.0 through 2.8.15, or 2.9.0 through 2.9.13.
  2. Check Ansible Tower version
    For Ansible Tower, check the version in the web UI under 'Settings > About' or use the API endpoint /api/v2/pings/.
    Affected if The Tower version is 3.6.0 through 3.6.5, 3.7.0 through 3.7.2, or 3.0.
  3. Identify dnf module usage in playbooks
    Search your playbook repository or audit /etc/ansible/ and /home/*/.ansible/ directories for files containing 'dnf:' or 'package:' with 'yum: no' to identify playbooks using the dnf module.
    Affected if Any playbooks use the dnf module to install packages.
  4. Inspect disable_gpg_check setting
    Review the identified dnf module playbooks and look for the 'disable_gpg_check' parameter. Check whether it is explicitly set to True or False, or if it is omitted (default is False).
    Affected if The disable_gpg_check parameter is set to False or omitted (default), meaning GPG verification is expected but is not actually enforced due to the bug.
  5. Audit recent package installations
    Review Ansible execution logs, job history in Tower, or system package manager history (dnf history) for packages installed via Ansible dnf module since the affected version was deployed.
    Affected if Any packages were installed using the dnf module in Ansible while running an affected version.

A user is affected if they run Ansible Engine 2.8.x (up to 2.8.15) or 2.9.x (up to 2.9.13), or Ansible Tower 3.6.x/3.7.x/3.0, and have used the dnf module to install packages with disable_gpg_check not explicitly set to True.

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 3.7.2
Interim mitigation

Update Ansible Engine to version 2.8.15 or later (2.8.x) or 2.9.13 or later (2.9.x). Prior to updating, audit dnf module playbooks for any recently installed packages and monitor for suspicious activity.

Fix this in Ansible Engine Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,920
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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-2020-14365 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