CVE-2014-3498: Ansible Ansible Arbitrary Code Execution Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-4cvm-5776-jx9f
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CVSS 8.8
CWE-20
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2014-3498 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.8) ansible arbitrary code execution vulnerability (CWE-20: Improper Input Validation) affecting Ansible libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves ansible arbitrary code execution. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.6.6.

CVE-2014-3498 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2014-3498
GHSA Identifier GHSA-4cvm-5776-jx9f
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.8
CWE Classification CWE-20: Improper Input Validation
Affected Product Ansible
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2014-3498

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Ansible dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

ansible fixed: 1.6.6 
pip install ansible>=1.6.6
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

pip show ansible

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2014-3498, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show ansible

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Ansible in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.6.6), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show ansible command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-20: Improper Input Validation, where the product receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly. In Ansible, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

User module in ansible before 1.6.6 is vulnerable to command execution. Ansible can get the result of remote command in variable, which may come from untrusted source of input. If the content of variable isn't properly filtered and when attempting to use the variable, it will trigger a function that passes it through jinja 2 template engine that can result into arbitrary command execution. Under certain circumstances, unprivileged user on system that is being managed via ansible can execute code on the managing host under UID of running ansible process.

CVE-2014-3498 Affected Ansible Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.6.6
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
ansible
pypi/ansible
PyPI
< 1.6.6
1.6.6

References

NVD — CVE-2014-3498 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-3498
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/ansible/ansible/commit/8ed6350e65c82292a631f08845dfaacffe7f07f5
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi WEB
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1335551
Ansible Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/ansible/ansible
Ansible Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/ansible/PYSEC-2017-2.yaml

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2014-3498?
CVE-2014-3498 is a security vulnerability in Ansible involving Ansible Arbitrary Code Execution under CWE-20: Improper Input Validation.
Which Ansible versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.6.6 across affected packages: ansible.
What version fixes CVE-2014-3498?
Upgrading to 1.6.6 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is ansible affected?
Yes, ansible is affected in releases prior to 1.6.6. Upgrade your dependency to 1.6.6 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2014-3498?
CVE-2014-3498 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2014-3498?
CVE-2014-3498 is classified under CWE-20: Improper Input Validation (The product receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2014-3498?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show ansible'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-4cvm-5776-jx9f",
  "modified" : "2024-09-03T21:19:34Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-14T02:03:45Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2014-3498" ],
  "summary" : "Ansible Arbitrary Code Execution",
  "details" : "User module in ansible before 1.6.6 is vulnerable to command execution. Ansible can get the result of remote command in variable, which may come from untrusted source of input. If the content of variable isn't properly filtered and when attempting to use the variable, it will trigger a function that passes it through jinja 2 template engine that can result into arbitrary command execution. Under certain circumstances, unprivileged user on system that is being managed via ansible can execute code on the managing host under UID of running ansible process.\n",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "ansible"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.6.6"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-3498"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ansible/ansible/commit/8ed6350e65c82292a631f08845dfaacffe7f07f5"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1335551"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ansible/ansible"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/ansible/PYSEC-2017-2.yaml"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-20" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-08-16T22:07:25Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2017-06-08T18:29:00Z"
  }
}