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Ansible Automation PlatformApplication · Redhat

CVE-2023-4380

MEDIUM · 6.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-10-04
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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 logic flaw exists in Ansible Automation platform. Whenever a private project is created with incorrect credentials, they are logged in plaintext. This flaw allows an attacker to retrieve the credentials from the log, resulting in the loss of confidentiality, integrity, and 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

A logic flaw in Ansible Automation Platform causes private project credentials to be logged in plaintext when entered incorrectly. An attacker with access to system logs can retrieve these plaintext credentials and gain unauthorized access to private projects, compromising confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

MitigationImplement log sanitization to mask or redact credential values in all log outputs, and rotate any credentials that may have been exposed in logs.

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 Automation PlatformApplication
Affected:= 2.4
Ansible DeveloperApplication
Affected:= 1.1
Ansible InsideApplication
Affected:= 1.2

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low

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

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. Identify the installed Ansible product and version
    Run 'ansible-core --version' or check the installed package version using the system package manager (e.g., 'rpm -qa | grep ansible' or 'pip list | grep ansible'). For Red Hat products, check via 'subscription-manager list --installed' or the AAP installer inventory file if available.
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 2.4 for Ansible Automation Platform, 1.1 for Ansible Developer, or 1.2 for Ansible Inside.
  2. Determine if private project credentials are configured
    Review the Ansible Automation Platform configuration for any private project sources that require credentials. Check the UI under 'Projects' or the API endpoint '/api/v2/projects/' for projects with 'scm_url' pointing to private repositories.
    Affected if Private projects with SCM credentials (such as private Git repositories) are configured in the environment.
  3. Examine system logs for plaintext credential patterns
    Search journald logs, syslog, or AAP controller logs for patterns resembling SCM credentials. Commands: 'journalctl -u ansible-controller --since "1 week ago" | grep -iE "(password|token|secret|key)"' or 'grep -rE "(password|token|secret)" /var/log/ansible/'. Check /var/log/messages, /var/log/syslog, or the controller's job stdout logs.
    Affected if Log entries contain plaintext strings matching credential values used for private project SCM access.
  4. Verify log sanitization is not applied to credential fields
    Inspect the logging configuration files in /etc/ansible/automation-controller/ or the AAP controller settings. Look for 'LOGGING' settings in settings.py or configure.py, specifically any 'sanitize' or 'mask' rules for 'password', 'token', or 'secret' fields.
    Affected if No sanitization rules exist for credential fields in logging configuration, or the 'job_event_data' fields are not being masked in logs.

You are affected if you run Ansible Automation Platform 2.4, Ansible Developer 1.1, or Ansible Inside 1.2 with private project credentials configured and your logs contain unmasked credential values from failed or incorrect credential entry attempts.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Implement log sanitization to mask or redact credential values in all log outputs, and rotate any credentials that may have been exposed in logs.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence
  1. Check the official Red Hat Security Advisory (RHSA) for CVE-2023-4380 at access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-4380 to obtain the specific patch or update package
  2. Apply the security update via 'yum update' or the Red Hat Satellite management console
  3. Restart the Ansible Automation Platform services as required by the security advisory
  4. Verify the fix by creating a test private project with credentials and confirming they are no longer visible in the /var/log/ directory or journal logs
  5. Audit existing logs for any plaintext credentials that may have been previously captured and rotate those logs

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Ansible Automation Platform Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
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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-2023-4380 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