# CVE-2014-4966: Ansible Arbitrary Code Execution

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2014-4966-ansible-arbitrary-code-execution  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2020-02-18  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2014-4966 · Severity: low · CVSS 3.1 · Published 2020-02-18

Ansible before 1.6.7 does not prevent inventory data with "{{" and "lookup" substrings, and does not prevent remote data with "{{" substrings, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via (1) crafted lookup('pipe') calls or (2) crafted Jinja2 data.

Technologies: [ansible (PyPI)](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/ansible). Vendors: [PyPI](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/pypi).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2014-4966 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2014-4966 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2014-4966?** Low severity, with a CVSS score of 3.1, published 18 February 2020.

**Which products and versions are affected?** ansible (PyPI) ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=1.6.7, GIT:introduced=0,fixed=62a1295a3e08cb6c3e9f1b2a1e6e5dcaeab32527|ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=1.6.7.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2014-4966?** Yes. ansible (PyPI): upgrade to 1.6.7 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**Am I affected by CVE-2014-4966?** Check whether you run ansible (PyPI) at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## How to fix

- ansible (PyPI): upgrade to 1.6.7 or later

  ```sh
  pip install "ansible>=1.6.7"
  ```


## Affected products

- ansible (PyPI) ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=1.6.7, GIT:introduced=0,fixed=62a1295a3e08cb6c3e9f1b2a1e6e5dcaeab32527|ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=1.6.7

## Identifiers

- CVE-2014-4966
- GHSA-wqq5-c89p-3wc3
- PYSEC-2020-204

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- [Ansible community.general information exposure in Keycloak user module](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2025-14010-ansible-community-general-information-exposure-in-keycloak-user)
- [Ansible discloses sensitive information in traceback error message](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2021-3620-ansible-discloses-sensitive-information-in-traceback-error-message)