CVE-2026-84724
Automation-controller: automation-controller: systemjob extra_vars.days argument injection into uncontainerized control-plane awx-manage process
What happened?
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.
Affected software and versions
| Software | Version information | Fixed version |
|---|---|---|
| automation-controllerRed Hat | unaffected: 0:4.6.33-1.el8ap to < * | See vendor advisory |
| automation-controllerRed Hat | unaffected: 0:4.6.33-1.el8ap to < * | See vendor advisory |
| automation-controllerRed Hat | unaffected: 0:4.6.33-1.el9ap to < * | See vendor advisory |
| automation-controllerRed Hat | unaffected: 0:4.6.33-1.el9ap to < * | See vendor advisory |
| automation-controllerRed Hat | unaffected: 0:4.7.17-1.el9ap to < * | See vendor advisory |
| automation-controllerRed Hat | unaffected: 0:4.7.17-1.el9ap to < * | See vendor advisory |
| ansible-automation-platform-26/controller-rhel9Red Hat | unaffected: 1789673739 to < * | See vendor advisory |
| ansible-automation-platform-27/controller-rhel9Red Hat | unaffected: 1789580684 to < * | See vendor advisory |
Version information comes from the source record and can include unaffected products and exceptions. Distribution packages may contain backported fixes: an older upstream version alone does not prove a server is affected.
Is it being exploited?
This CVE was not listed in the CISA catalogue at our last retrieval. This does not establish that exploitation is absent.
How to respond
- Confirm the product, installed package version, and any configuration requirements in the vendor advisory.
- Follow the vendor’s remediation or workaround guidance in the references below. Structured fixed-version data is unavailable here; the publisher’s description may include a fix or workaround.
- Restart affected services if required, then verify the running version. Known exploitation may warrant investigation as well as patching.
Sources and remediation references
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-84724
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:71113
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:71114
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:71177
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:71179
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-84724
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2527222