# CVE-2026-16493: Ansible-core: argument injection in ansible-galaxy collection install via git clone (incomplete fix for cve-2026-11332)

Status: published. Published: 2026-07-21. Updated: 2026-11-03.

A flaw was found in ansible-core. The _extract_collection_from_git() function in ansible-core's concrete_artifact_manager.py constructs git clone commands without a '--' (end-of-options) separator before user-supplied URLs when installing collections from git sources. An attacker who provides a crafted collection source URI containing git argument injection payloads can achieve arbitrary command execution when a user runs 'ansible-galaxy collection install' with the malicious source. This is an incomplete fix for CVE-2026-11332, which hardened the role install path but missed the equivalent collection install code path.

## Remediation

- workaround: The following practices would help for avoiding exposure and mitigate this flaw:

1. Do not install Ansible collections from untrusted or unverified git sources. Only install collections from trusted sources such as Ansible Galaxy (https://galaxy.ansible.com), Red Hat Automation Hub (https://console.redhat.com/ansible/automation-hub), or verified internal repositories using HTTPS URLs.

2. Carefully inspect any requirements.yml files before running 'ansible-galaxy collection install -r requirements.yml'. Verify that all collection sources use legitimate HTTPS URLs and do not contain git+ prefixed URIs with suspicious characters (especially values starting with '-').

3. Ensure your system's git version is 2.12 or later, which disables the ext:: transport by default. While this does not fully prevent exploitation (the -ccore.sshCommand technique bypasses transport restrictions), it eliminates one of the exploitation vectors.

4. Restrict the GIT_ALLOW_PROTOCOL environment variable to only necessary protocols (e.g. https, ssh) and never include 'ext' unless absolutely required. (source: CNA: redhat)

## Affected products and versions

- Red Hat / Red Hat Satellite 6.17 for RHEL 9 (ansible-core): ≥ 1:2.16.19-1.el9sat; < * (unaffected, rpm). Source: CNA: redhat
- Red Hat / Red Hat Satellite 6.18 for RHEL 9 (ansible-core): ≥ 1:2.16.19-1.el9sat; < * (unaffected, rpm). Source: CNA: redhat
- Red Hat / Red Hat Satellite 6.18 for RHEL 9 (pulpcore-obsolete-packages): ≥ 0:1.3.1-5.el9pc; < * (unaffected, rpm). Source: CNA: redhat
- Red Hat / Red Hat Satellite 6.18 for RHEL 9 (python3.12-pulpcore): ≥ 0:3.73.30-3.el9pc; < * (unaffected, rpm). Source: CNA: redhat
- Red Hat / Red Hat Satellite 6.19 for RHEL 9 (ansible-core): ≥ 1:2.16.19-1.el9sat; < * (unaffected, rpm). Source: CNA: redhat
- Red Hat / Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 (ansible-core): Version range not reported. Source: CNA: redhat
- Red Hat / Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 (ansible-core): Version range not reported. Source: CNA: redhat
- Red Hat / Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 (ansible-core): Version range not reported. Source: CNA: redhat
- Red Hat / Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 (ansible-core): Version range not reported. Source: CNA: redhat

## Severity and prioritization

- CVSS 3.1: 7.8 (high); CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H; source: CNA: redhat

- CISA KEV: No listing in collected sources

- EPSS: 0.27% as of 2026-11-03; percentile 18.97%

- SSVC: exploitation none; automatable no; technical impact total; source ADP: CISA-ADP

- Weaknesses: CWE-88

## Exploit evidence

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

## References

- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:63385 (CNA: redhat; vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT)

- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:63386 (CNA: redhat; vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT)

- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:63387 (CNA: redhat; vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT)

- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-16493 (CNA: redhat; vdb-entry, x_refsource_REDHAT)

- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2503724 (CNA: redhat; issue-tracking, x_refsource_REDHAT)

## Provenance

- CNA: redhat: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-16493; retrieved 2026-11-03; source updated 2026-11-03

- FIRST EPSS: https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-16493; retrieved 2026-11-03; source updated Not reported

Revision: 50046e76355a6fd257beaedc911c2825cd485c230a4161aa75096ef67f5e0cc0

Canonical: https://y2.dev/cve/CVE-2026-16493

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