A local privilege escalation vulnerability was found in the ansible.posix authorized_key module. The module's keyfile() function uses os.chown() instead of os.lchown() and opens files without O_NOFOLLOW when managing SSH authorized keys. An unprivileged local user can pre-stage symbolic links in their ~/.ssh directory to redirect file ownership changes to arbitrary system paths when an operator runs the authorized_key task as root, leading to local privilege escalation.
History

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 14:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Wed, 10 Jun 2026 12:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

threat_severity

Important


Wed, 10 Jun 2026 11:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Redhat openstack Platform
Vendors & Products Redhat openstack Platform

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 05:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description A local privilege escalation vulnerability was found in the ansible.posix authorized_key module. The module's keyfile() function uses os.chown() instead of os.lchown() and opens files without O_NOFOLLOW when managing SSH authorized keys. An unprivileged local user can pre-stage symbolic links in their ~/.ssh directory to redirect file ownership changes to arbitrary system paths when an operator runs the authorized_key task as root, leading to local privilege escalation.
Title Ansible-collection-ansible-posix: ansible.posix authorized_key: local privilege escalation via symlink-following chown
First Time appeared Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux
Redhat openstack
Weaknesses CWE-59
CPEs cpe:/a:redhat:openstack:17.1
cpe:/a:redhat:openstack:18.0
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8
cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9
Vendors & Products Redhat
Redhat enterprise Linux
Redhat openstack
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.3, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}


cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: redhat

Published: 2026-06-10T05:03:05.734Z

Updated: 2026-06-10T15:01:09.531Z

Reserved: 2026-06-10T04:10:05.146Z

Link: CVE-2026-11837

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-06-10T13:58:01.875Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-06-10T05:16:38.510

Modified: 2026-06-10T05:16:38.510

Link: CVE-2026-11837

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Important

Publid Date: 2026-06-10T00:00:00Z

Links: CVE-2026-11837 - Bugzilla