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AnsibleApplication · Redhat

CVE-2021-3447

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-04-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.2.2 / 3.8.2 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 flaw was found in several ansible modules, where parameters containing credentials, such as secrets, were being logged in plain-text on managed nodes, as well as being made visible on the controller node when run in verbose mode. These parameters were not protected by the no_log feature. An attacker can take advantage of this information to steal those credentials, provided when they have access to the log files containing them. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to data confidentiality. This flaw affects Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform in versions before 1.2.2 and Ansible Tower in versions before 3.8.2.

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

Ansible modules were logging credential parameters in plain-text to log files on managed nodes and making them visible on the controller when run in verbose mode. The sensitive parameters were not protected by the no_log feature, allowing attackers with log file access to steal credentials.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patches (Ansible Automation Platform 1.2.2+ or Tower 3.8.2+) and ensure all custom modules use no_log=True on functions handling sensitive data.

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
AnsibleApplication
Affected:< 1.2.2
Ansible TowerApplication
Affected:< 3.8.2
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 32= 33= 34

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 Ansible Engine version
    Run 'ansible --version' on the controller node and note the version number in the output
    Affected if The version shown is less than 1.2.2 (for example, 1.2.1, 1.1.0, etc.)
  2. Check Ansible Tower version
    Access the Tower UI under 'Settings > About' or run 'awx-manage --version' on the Tower server
    Affected if The version is less than 3.8.2
  3. Check Fedora version
    Run 'cat /etc/fedora-release' on the managed nodes
    Affected if The output shows version 32, 33, or 34
  4. Check for verbose mode in Ansible configuration
    Examine ansible.cfg (in /etc/ansible/ansible.cfg, ~/ansible.cfg, or the project directory) for 'verbosity' settings or check if ANSIBLE_VERBOSITY environment variable is set to a value greater than 0
    Affected if Verbose mode is enabled (verbosity level 1 or higher) and credentials have been passed to modules
  5. Inspect log files for plain-text credentials
    Search Ansible log files (in /var/log/ansible/ or the configured log_path in ansible.cfg) and system logs (such as /var/log/messages or /var/log/syslog) on managed nodes for sensitive strings that appear in plain text, such as 'password=', 'secret=', 'token=', or actual credential values
    Affected if Log files contain sensitive parameters in plain-text form (not masked or hashed)
  6. Verify custom module no_log usage
    Review custom Ansible module code (files in library/ or plugins/modules/ directories) and check if functions handling sensitive data have the '@ansible.module_utils.basic.no_log' decorator or 'no_log=True' parameter set on the module
    Affected if Custom modules handling credentials do not use no_log=True, allowing their values to be logged

You are affected if any of the following are true: your Ansible version is below 1.2.2, your Tower version is below 3.8.2, or you are running Fedora 32/33/34, and you have executed modules with credential parameters while verbose logging was enabled or your log files are accessible to unauthorized users.

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 1.2.2 / 3.8.2 or later
Fixed in 1.2.23.8.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied patches (Ansible Automation Platform 1.2.2+ or Tower 3.8.2+) and ensure all custom modules use no_log=True on functions handling sensitive data.

Fix this in Ansible Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
25.0 hours of engineering $4,400
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,040.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2021-3447 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