CVE-2026-84691 (CVSS 8.7)

Description

A flaw was found in Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform's automation- controller. The setting that formats the log message emitted for API 4XX errors is an administrator-controlled Python format-string template that is rendered with a live user object as an argument. Because Python string formatting permits attribute and item traversal on its arguments, an administrator can craft a template that walks from the user object into the application settings and reads the Django secret key and the database password. The formatted message is written to a logger that can be forwarded to an external log aggregator, whose destination is also administrator-controlled, allowing the secrets to be sent off the host. An authenticated administrator can thereby obtain the master encryption key used to protect all stored credentials and the database service password, enabling offline decryption of every stored credential, forgery of user sessions, and direct access to the controller database.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

8.7

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0020

Probability of exploitation

0.09%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-134 CWE-134

References

Other References

https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:71113 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:71114 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:71177 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:71179 https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-84691 https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2527151

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-84691? +

A flaw was found in Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform's automation- controller. The setting that formats the log message emitted for API 4XX errors is an administrator-controlled Python format-string template that is rendered with a live user object as an argument. Because Python string formatting permits attribute and item traversal on its arguments, an administrator can craft a template that walks from the user object into the application settings and reads the Django secret key and the database password. The formatted message is written to a logger that can be forwarded to an external log aggregator, whose destination is also administrator-controlled, allowing the secrets to be sent off the host. An authenticated administrator can thereby obtain the master encryption key used to protect all stored credentials and the database service password, enabling offline decryption of every stored credential, forgery of user sessions, and direct access to the controller database. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.7 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2026-84691? +

CVE-2026-84691 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 8.7 out of 10, rated HIGH. This is a high-severity vulnerability that should be prioritized for patching. The EPSS score is 0.0020, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-84691? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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CVE-2026-84691