CVE-2026-71462: Automation-controller: automation-controller-container: automation-controller: custom_venv_path setting provides filesystem path-existence oracle on control pod

Severity: medium (CVSS 4.1 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.3% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-09-23 · updated 2026-09-24
Weakness: CWE-204

Description

StringListPathField.to_internal_value() calls os.path.exists() on unbounded user-supplied paths. 200 vs 400 response reveals existence of arbitrary absolute paths on the controller-web pod. Tenant superuser can confirm /etc/tower/SECRET_KEY, k8s service-account token, receptor sockets, ConfigMap mount points. Mainly impactful on managed AAP (ansiblecloud.com) where tenant admin != host admin.

Affected products

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 for RHEL 8: all versions — fixed in 0:4.6.33-1.el8ap
Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 for RHEL 9: all versions — fixed in 0:4.6.33-1.el9ap
Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6: all versions — fixed in 1789673739
Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 for RHEL 9: all versions — fixed in 0:4.7.17-1.el9ap
Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.7: all versions — fixed in 1789580684

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 for RHEL 8 0:4.6.33-1.el8ap; Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 for RHEL 9 0:4.6.33-1.el9ap; Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 1789673739; Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 for RHEL 9 0:4.7.17-1.el9ap; Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.7 1789580684. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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