CVE-2014-4966: Ansible Ansible Arbitrary Code Execution Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-wqq5-c89p-3wc3
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-74
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2014-4966 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) ansible arbitrary code execution vulnerability (CWE-74: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection')) affecting Ansible libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves ansible arbitrary code execution. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.6.7.

CVE-2014-4966 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2014-4966
GHSA Identifier GHSA-wqq5-c89p-3wc3
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-74: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection')
Affected Product Ansible
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

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:H/I:H/A:H).

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 High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2014-4966

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: 1.6.7 
pip install ansible>=1.6.7
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-2014-4966, 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 1.6.7), 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-74: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection'), where the product constructs all or part of a command, data structure, or record using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify how it is parsed or interpreted when it is sent to a downstream component. 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 1.6.7 does not prevent inventory data with "{{" and "lookup" substrings, and does not prevent remote data with "{{" substrings, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via (1) crafted lookup('pipe') calls or (2) crafted Jinja2 data.

CVE-2014-4966 Affected Ansible Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.6.7
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
ansible
pypi/ansible
PyPI
< 1.6.7
1.6.7

References

NVD — CVE-2014-4966 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-4966
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/ansible/ansible/commit/62a1295a3e08cb6c3e9f1b2a1e6e5dcaeab32527
Ansible Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/ansible/PYSEC-2020-204.yaml
www.ocert.org/advisories/ocert-20... WEB
http://www.ocert.org/advisories/ocert-2014-004.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2014-4966?
CVE-2014-4966 is a security vulnerability in Ansible involving Ansible Arbitrary Code Execution under CWE-74: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection').
Which Ansible versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.6.7 across affected packages: ansible.
What version fixes CVE-2014-4966?
Upgrading to 1.6.7 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is ansible affected?
Yes, ansible is affected in releases prior to 1.6.7. Upgrade your dependency to 1.6.7 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2014-4966?
CVE-2014-4966 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2014-4966?
CVE-2014-4966 is classified under CWE-74: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection') (The product constructs all or part of a command, data structure, or record using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify how it is parsed or interpreted when it is sent to a downstream component.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2014-4966?
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-wqq5-c89p-3wc3",
  "modified" : "2024-09-10T21:48:43Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-17T19:57:30Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2014-4966" ],
  "summary" : "Ansible Arbitrary Code Execution",
  "details" : "Ansible before 1.6.7 does not prevent inventory data with \"{{\" and \"lookup\" substrings, and does not prevent remote data with \"{{\" substrings, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via (1) crafted lookup('pipe') calls or (2) crafted Jinja2 data.\n",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/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" : "1.6.7"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-4966"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ansible/ansible/commit/62a1295a3e08cb6c3e9f1b2a1e6e5dcaeab32527"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/ansible/PYSEC-2020-204.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.ocert.org/advisories/ocert-2014-004.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-74" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2024-01-30T23:56:00Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2020-02-18T15:15:00Z"
  }
}