# CVE-2023-5115: Ansible: malicious role archive can cause ansible-galaxy to overwrite arbitrary files

Status: published. Published: 2023-12-18. Updated: 2026-11-07.

An absolute path traversal attack exists in the Ansible automation platform. This flaw allows an attacker to craft a malicious Ansible role and make the victim execute the role. A symlink can be used to overwrite a file outside of the extraction path.

## Remediation

No remediation reported in collected sources

## Affected products and versions

- Red Hat / Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.3 for RHEL 8 (ansible-core): ≥ 0:2.14.11-1.el8ap; < * (unaffected, rpm). Source: CNA: redhat
- Red Hat / Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.3 for RHEL 9 (ansible-core): ≥ 0:2.14.11-1.el9ap; < * (unaffected, rpm). Source: CNA: redhat
- Red Hat / Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.4 for RHEL 8 (ansible-core): ≥ 0:2.15.5-1.el8ap; < * (unaffected, rpm). Source: CNA: redhat
- Red Hat / Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.4 for RHEL 9 (ansible-core): ≥ 0:2.15.5-1.el9ap; < * (unaffected, rpm). Source: CNA: redhat
- Red Hat / Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 1.2 (ansible): Version range not reported. Source: CNA: redhat

## Severity and prioritization

- CVSS 3.1: 6.3 (medium); CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:N; source: CNA: redhat

- CISA KEV: No listing in collected sources

- EPSS: 1.01% as of 2026-11-07; percentile 63.44%

- SSVC: Not available

- Weaknesses: CWE-36

## Exploit evidence

No exploit evidence in collected sources. This is not proof of no exploitation.

## References

- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:5701 (CNA: redhat; vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT)

- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:5758 (CNA: redhat; vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT)

- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-5115 (CNA: redhat; vdb-entry, x_refsource_REDHAT)

- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2233810 (CNA: redhat; issue-tracking, x_refsource_REDHAT)

- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:5701 (ADP: CVE; vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT, x_transferred)

- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2023:5758 (ADP: CVE; vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT, x_transferred)

- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-5115 (ADP: CVE; vdb-entry, x_refsource_REDHAT, x_transferred)

- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2233810 (ADP: CVE; issue-tracking, x_refsource_REDHAT, x_transferred)

- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/12/msg00018.html (ADP: CVE; x_transferred)

## Provenance

- CNA: redhat: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-5115; retrieved 2026-11-07; source updated 2026-11-07

- FIRST EPSS: https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2023-5115; retrieved 2026-11-07; source updated Not reported

Revision: 4d28b7769c59e91fff0f6cd70fe21456af43c19ec697f4c6d2a40a9e99a1c42d

Canonical: https://y2.dev/cve/CVE-2023-5115

## Agent and API access

Public CVE pages, Markdown, and JSON are free to read without an account or API key.

- Public catalog: https://y2.dev/cve/index.json. Follow nextCursor with the same search, filters, sort, and limit (1–100). A null cursor marks the end.

- WebMCP: search_cve_disclosures, get_cve_disclosure, get_cve_page_markdown, get_y2_cve_access. Available in compatible browsers.

- Cyber API: https://api.y2.dev/api/v2/cyber/cves and https://api.y2.dev/api/v2/cyber/cves/{cveId}.

- Y2 Pro or Elite: create a workspace API key with the intel:cyber scope and send Authorization: Bearer <Y2_API_KEY>. Setup: https://y2.dev/docs/api/create-key.

- x402: Pay per request without an account or API key. Omit Authorization, read the HTTP 402 PAYMENT-REQUIRED challenge, validate its current requirements, and retry with PAYMENT-SIGNATURE through an authorized payment client. These browser tools never make payments. Guide: https://y2.dev/docs/api/x402.

- OpenAPI: https://y2.dev/api/openapi.yaml. Agent access metadata: https://y2.dev/cve/agent.json.

Collected public records only. Check source status for coverage and freshness.