CVE-2026-11837
Fixed in a distro release EPSS <1%CVSS 7.3
A local privilege escalation vulnerability was found in the ansible.posix authorized_key module. The module's keyfile() function uses os.chown() instead of os.lchown() and opens files without O_NOFOLLOW when managing SSH authorized keys. An unprivileged local user can pre-stage symbolic links in their ~/.ssh directory to redirect file ownership changes to arbitrary system paths when an operator runs the authorized_key task as root, leading to local privilege escalation.
Products: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update Support Long-Life Add-On, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Telecommunications Update Service, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Update Services for SAP Solutions, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenStack Platform 17.1, Red Hat OpenStack Platform 18.0
Distro releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| Debian 12 | ansible | no fix |
| Debian 13 | ansible | no fix |
| Debian 14 | ansible | no fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux eus 10.0 | rhc-worker-playbook | 0:0.2.3-6.el10_0.2 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux eus 10.0 | rhc-worker-playbook-debuginfo | 0:0.2.3-6.el10_0.2 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux eus 10.0 | rhc-worker-playbook-debugsource | 0:0.2.3-6.el10_0.2 |
| Red Hat rhel aus 8.6 | rhc-worker-playbook | 0:0.1.8-2.el8_6.1 |
| Red Hat rhel e4s 8.8 | rhc-worker-playbook | 0:0.1.8-5.el8_8.1 |
| Red Hat rhel eus long life 8.6 | rhc-worker-playbook | 0:0.1.8-2.el8_6.1 |
| Red Hat rhel tus 8.8 | rhc-worker-playbook | 0:0.1.8-5.el8_8.1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | ansible-core | no fix |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | ansible | no fix |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | ansible-core | no fix |
| Ubuntu 25.10 | ansible | no fix |
| Ubuntu 25.10 | ansible-core | no fix |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | ansible | no fix |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | ansible-core | no fix |
| Ubuntu 26.10 | ansible | no fix |
| Ubuntu 26.10 | ansible-core | no fix |
| Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS | ansible | no fix |
| Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS | ansible | no fix |
| Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS | ansible | no fix |
| Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS | ansible | no fix |
| Ubuntu Pro 22.04 LTS | ansible | no fix |