CVE-2020-25635: Ansible Ansible Does Not Collect Garbage Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-f556-49jc-4rvc
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CVSS 5.0
CWE-212
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-25635 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.0) ansible does not collect garbage vulnerability (CWE-212: Improper Removal of Sensitive Information Before Storage or Transfer) affecting Ansible libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves ansible does not collect garbage after playbook run. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.10.1.

CVE-2020-25635 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-25635
GHSA Identifier GHSA-f556-49jc-4rvc
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.0
CWE Classification CWE-212: Improper Removal of Sensitive Information Before Storage or Transfer
Affected Product Ansible
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.0

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2020-25635

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: 2.10.1 
pip install ansible>=2.10.1
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-2020-25635, 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 2.10.1), 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-212: Improper Removal of Sensitive Information Before Storage or Transfer, where the product stores, transfers, or shares a resource that contains sensitive information, but it does not properly remove that information before the product makes the resource available to unauthorized actors. 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

A flaw was found in Ansible Base when using the aws_ssm connection plugin as its garbage collector is not happening after the playbook run is completed. Files would remain in the bucket exposing the data. This issue directly affects data confidentiality.

CVE-2020-25635 Affected Ansible Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.10.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
ansible
pypi/ansible
PyPI
< 2.10.1
2.10.1

References

NVD — CVE-2020-25635 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-25635
Ansible Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/ansible-collections/community.aws/issues/222
Ansible Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/ansible-collections/community.aws/pull/237#issuecomment-1468591094
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi WEB
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2020-25635
Ansible Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/ansible/ansible
Ansible Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/ansible/PYSEC-2020-220.yaml

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-25635?
CVE-2020-25635 is a security vulnerability in Ansible involving Ansible does not collect garbage after playbook run under CWE-212: Improper Removal of Sensitive Information Before Storage or Transfer.
Which Ansible versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.10.1 across affected packages: ansible.
What version fixes CVE-2020-25635?
Upgrading to 2.10.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is ansible affected?
Yes, ansible is affected in releases prior to 2.10.1. Upgrade your dependency to 2.10.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-25635?
CVE-2020-25635 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.0 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-25635?
CVE-2020-25635 is classified under CWE-212: Improper Removal of Sensitive Information Before Storage or Transfer (The product stores, transfers, or shares a resource that contains sensitive information, but it does not properly remove that information before the product makes the resource available to unauthorized actors.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2020-25635?
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-f556-49jc-4rvc",
  "modified" : "2025-10-31T17:31:57Z",
  "published" : "2025-10-31T17:31:57Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-25635" ],
  "summary" : "Ansible does not collect garbage after playbook run",
  "details" : "A flaw was found in Ansible Base when using the aws_ssm connection plugin as its garbage collector is not happening after the playbook run is completed. Files would remain in the bucket exposing the data. This issue directly affects data confidentiality.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "ansible"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.10.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-25635"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ansible-collections/community.aws/issues/222"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ansible-collections/community.aws/pull/237#issuecomment-1468591094"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2020-25635"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/ansible/ansible"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/ansible/PYSEC-2020-220.yaml"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-212" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2025-10-31T17:31:57Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2020-10-05T14:15:00Z"
  }
}