Sensitive Information in LogsWeakness · CWE-532

CVE-2024-8775

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-09-14
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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 Ansible, where sensitive information stored in Ansible Vault files can be exposed in plaintext during the execution of a playbook. This occurs when using tasks such as include_vars to load vaulted variables without setting the no_log: true parameter, resulting in sensitive data being printed in the playbook output or logs. This can lead to the unintentional disclosure of secrets like passwords or API keys, compromising security and potentially allowing unauthorized access or actions.

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, when vault-encrypted variable files are loaded using tasks like include_vars without setting no_log: true on those tasks, any sensitive data (passwords, API keys, secrets) stored in the vault gets printed in plaintext to stdout/stderr and stored in log files. This exposes secrets that were intentionally encrypted at rest.

MitigationAdd no_log: true to any task that loads or processes vault-encrypted variables, and review all playbook output to ensure no plaintext secrets appear in logs or console output.

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

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. Identify tasks that load vault-encrypted variable files
    Search playbooks for tasks using the include_vars module or other variable-loading tasks that reference files likely containing vault-encrypted data (files encrypted with ansible-vault). Look for patterns like: include_vars: filename=vars/secrets.yml or similar.
    Affected if Tasks load vault-encrypted files without verifying no_log is set on those tasks
  2. Check if no_log is set on variable-loading tasks
    For each task that loads variable files, inspect whether the no_log: true parameter is present. This can be done by reviewing the playbook source code or running: grep -r 'no_log' playbooks/tasks/
    Affected if The include_vars or variable-loading task does NOT have no_log: true defined
  3. Review Ansible output for plaintext secrets
    Run Ansible playbooks and capture stdout/stderr. Search the output for any plaintext passwords, API keys, or secrets that should only exist inside the vault. Also check persistent log files (ansible.log, playbook logs, system logs).
    Affected if Plaintext secrets from vault-encrypted files appear in console output or log files
  4. Check automation pipelines and CI/CD logs
    Examine CI/CD systems (Jenkins, GitLab CI, GitHub Actions, etc.) that run Ansible playbooks. Review job logs, artifact logs, and any stored output files for leaked secrets.
    Affected if Automation logs contain plaintext secrets from vault-encrypted variable files

You are affected if you have tasks loading vault-encrypted variable files WITHOUT no_log: true set, and your console output or log files contain those secrets in plaintext.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Add no_log: true to any task that loads or processes vault-encrypted variables, and review all playbook output to ensure no plaintext secrets appear in logs or console output.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2024-8775 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
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