CVE-2026-12564
Description
A flaw was found in the AAP Controller's HashiCorp Vault credential plugin. The kubernetes_auth() function in awx_plugins/credentials/hashivault.py reads the controller pod's Kubernetes service account token and sends it to an attacker-controlled URL when a HashiCorp Vault Secret Lookup credential with kubernetes_role authentication is tested. An authenticated attacker with credential-creation privileges can exfiltrate the service account token, gaining Kubernetes API access to the control plane namespaces with full pod CRUD and secret read permissions, including database credentials and the Django SECRET_KEY.
Statement
This flaw affects AAP Controller deployments that include the HashiCorp Vault credential plugin (awx_plugins/credentials/hashivault.py) with kubernetes_role support. The vulnerability is particularly impactful in AAP Cloud (managed service) environments where the Kubernetes control plane is managed by Red Hat and tenant isolation is a security boundary. On-premise deployments are also affected, though the impact is lower since the administrator already has access to the infrastructure. The vulnerable code path exists in all AAP versions that ship the hashivault credential plugin with kubernetes_role authentication support.
Mitigation
The following practices would help for avoiding exposure and mitigate this flaw:
- Restrict network egress from controller pods using Kubernetes NetworkPolicy to prevent outbound connections to untrusted destinations. Only allow connections to known Vault server endpoints.
- Review and restrict the RBAC permissions of the automation-controller service account to follow the principle of least privilege. Remove unnecessary secret read access.
- In AAP Cloud environments, audit credential-creation activity for suspicious HashiCorp Vault credentials with external or unusual URLs.
- Monitor Kubernetes audit logs for unexpected API calls using the automation-controller service account, particularly secret reads and pod operations from EE pods.
- Rotate the automation-controller service account token if unauthorized access is suspected.
- Consider restricting the "create credential" privilege to only trusted administrators until the fix is available.
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).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 9.6 | N/A | 9.6 |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | Network |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | Low |
| Privileges Required | Low | N/A | Low |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Changed | N/A | Changed |
| Confidentiality | High | N/A | High |
| Integrity Impact | High | N/A | High |
| Availability Impact | None | N/A | None |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Read Application Data
Integrity
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands
Access Control
Technical Impact: Bypass Protection Mechanism
By providing URLs to unexpected hosts or ports, attackers can make it appear that the server is sending the request, possibly bypassing access controls such as firewalls that prevent the attackers from accessing the URLs directly. The server can be used as a proxy to conduct port scanning of hosts in internal networks, use other URLs such as that can access documents on the system (using file://), or use other protocols such as gopher:// or tftp://, which may provide greater control over the contents of requests.
Acknowledgements
This issue was discovered by Chris Meyers (Red Hat).
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