All vulnerabilities
CVE-2026-84716

Automation-controller: automation-controller: instance install_bundle issues 10-year, non-revocable receptor mesh-ca certificates for caller-chosen (and case-variant impersonating) hostnames

Red Hat Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 for RHEL 8Operating systems
CVSS
6.6Medium
ExploitationNo known exploitationNot in CISA KEV, which does not prove it is unexploitedCISA KEV
Exploit odds (EPSS)0.18%Chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 7% of CVEs. Scored 23 Oct 2026FIRST EPSS
Fixed inNone listedNo source names a fixed version. Check the vendor advisory below
Published23 Sep 2026Updated 16 Oct 2026CVE List

What fixes it

No source in this snapshot names a fixed version. The vendor advisories under References are the place to check.

Description

A flaw was found in the automation-controller instance install-bundle endpoint. When a System Administrator downloads an execution/hop node's install bundle, the controller signs an X.509 certificate with the receptor mesh certificate authority in which the Common Name, DNS subject-alternative-name, and receptor node-id are taken verbatim from the caller-chosen instance hostname, with a hard-coded ten-year validity, a random serial, and no issuance log or revocation list. Because the hostname charset validator is case-insensitive while the uniqueness validator is case-sensitive, an administrator can register a case variant of an existing control node's hostname and obtain a mesh-CA-signed certificate that TLS peers, which match hostnames case-insensitively, accept as that control node. In managed/hosted deployments — where the customer holds controller superuser but the platform operator runs the mesh — this yields a long-lived, non-revocable mesh peer credential and, with an on-path position, TLS impersonation or interception of control/hybrid mesh nodes. It does not grant direct remote code execution, because receptor work submission is gated by a separate signing key not included in the bundle.

Text from CVE List

Affected versions 5

  • Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 for RHEL 8unaffected: 0:4.6.33-1.el8ap and laterCVE List
  • Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 for RHEL 9unaffected: 0:4.6.33-1.el9ap and laterCVE List
  • Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 for RHEL 9unaffected: 0:4.7.17-1.el9ap and laterCVE List
  • Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6unaffected: 1789673739 and laterCVE List
  • Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.7unaffected: 1789580684 and laterCVE List

References 6