CVE-2026-84724
Description
An argument-injection flaw was found in the Ansible Automation Platform automation-controller system-job subsystem. The system-job template launch endpoint stores a user-supplied "days" variable without running the integer validation defined elsewhere for that field, and the dispatcher flattens the management-command argument list into a single string with spaces before the job runner re-splits it, so spaces in the value become additional command-line arguments. Because system jobs are executed in-process on the control node without the container isolation applied to all other job types, an authenticated user with superuser privileges can inject arbitrary arguments — including Python's path option — into the control-plane awx-manage process, controlling its argument vector and the first entry of its module search path. Full remote code execution requires an additional import gadget that is not present in the current management commands, so the demonstrated impact is argument injection with control of the process search path rather than confirmed code execution.
Statement
This flaw is an argument-injection weakness in the automation-controller system-job dispatcher: an unvalidated system-job variable is flattened into the management-command argument string with spaces and then re-split by the job runner, allowing extra arguments to be injected into an awx-manage process that, uniquely among job types, runs on the control node without container isolation. Exploitation requires superuser privileges. The demonstrated impact is control of the awx-manage argument vector and of sys.path[0]; full code execution requires an additional import gadget not present in the current management commands. The correct fix builds the runner argument file with shlex-safe quoting (ansible_runner.utils.args2cmdline, as the base task class already does), validates the launch-time extra_vars through the existing system-job validator, and coerces numeric options with int().
Mitigation
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base, or stability.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 6.6 | N/A | 6.6 |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | Network |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | Low |
| Privileges Required | High | N/A | High |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Changed | N/A | Changed |
| Confidentiality | Low | N/A | Low |
| Integrity Impact | Low | N/A | Low |
| Availability Impact | Low | N/A | Low |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Confidentiality,Integrity,Availability,Other
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; Alter Execution Logic; Read Application Data; Modify Application Data
If an attacker can provide an untrusted input that contains argument-separating delimiters, then the resulting command will have more arguments than intended by the developer, potentially changing the expected behavior of the command. Depending on the functionality supported by the extraneous arguments, this may have security-relevant consequences. The attacker could include arguments that allow unintended commands or code to be executed, allow sensitive data to be read or modified, or cause other unintended behavior.
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