CVE-2015-3908: Ansible Ansible Does Not Verify That Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-w64c-pxjj-h866
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-345
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2015-3908 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) ansible does not verify that vulnerability (CWE-345: Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity) affecting Ansible libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves ansible does not verify that the server hostname matches a domain name in certificates. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.9.2.

CVE-2015-3908 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2015-3908
GHSA Identifier GHSA-w64c-pxjj-h866
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-345: Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity
Affected Product Ansible
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N).

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

How to Fix CVE-2015-3908

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: 1.9.2 
pip install ansible>=1.9.2
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-2015-3908, 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 1.9.2), 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-345: Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity, where the product does not sufficiently verify the origin or authenticity of data, in a way that causes it to accept invalid data. 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

Ansible before 1.9.2 does not verify that the server hostname matches a domain name in the subject's Common Name (CN) or subjectAltName field of the X.509 certificate, which allows man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof SSL servers via an arbitrary valid certificate.

CVE-2015-3908 Affected Ansible Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.9.2
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
ansible
pypi/ansible
PyPI
< 1.9.2
1.9.2

References

NVD — CVE-2015-3908 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-3908
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-w64c-pxjj-h866
Ansible Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/ansible/ansible
Ansible Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/ansible/PYSEC-2015-1.yaml
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/09/msg00016.html
lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/20... WEB
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2015-07/msg00051.html
lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/20... WEB
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2015-08/msg00029.html
Ansible Security Information SECURITY
http://www.ansible.com/security
Ansible Security Information SECURITY
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2015/07/14/4

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2015-3908?
CVE-2015-3908 is a security vulnerability in Ansible involving Ansible does not verify that the server hostname matches a domain name in certificates under CWE-345: Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity.
Which Ansible versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.9.2 across affected packages: ansible.
What version fixes CVE-2015-3908?
Upgrading to 1.9.2 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is ansible affected?
Yes, ansible is affected in releases prior to 1.9.2. Upgrade your dependency to 1.9.2 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2015-3908?
CVE-2015-3908 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2015-3908?
CVE-2015-3908 is classified under CWE-345: Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity (The product does not sufficiently verify the origin or authenticity of data, in a way that causes it to accept invalid data.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2015-3908?
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-w64c-pxjj-h866",
  "modified" : "2024-09-04T18:42:22Z",
  "published" : "2018-10-10T17:23:51Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2015-3908" ],
  "summary" : "Ansible does not verify that the server hostname matches a domain name in certificates",
  "details" : "Ansible before 1.9.2 does not verify that the server hostname matches a domain name in the subject's Common Name (CN) or subjectAltName field of the X.509 certificate, which allows man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof SSL servers via an arbitrary valid certificate.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "ansible"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.9.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-3908"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-w64c-pxjj-h866"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ansible/ansible"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/ansible/PYSEC-2015-1.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/09/msg00016.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2015-07/msg00051.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2015-08/msg00029.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.ansible.com/security"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2015/07/14/4"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-345" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-06-16T21:59:44Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}