Junglewise Threat Intelligence

CVE-2025-57847: Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform privilege escalation in container images

CVE-2025-57847 · Severity: medium · CVSS 6.4 · Published 2026-04-08

Vendors: Red Hat, Redhat.

Executive brief

A security vulnerability was identified in certain container images used by the Ansible Automation Platform, a tool used for managing and deploying IT automation. Due to incorrect file permissions set during the image creation process, a user who already has the ability to run commands inside a container could potentially gain full administrative (root) control over that container. This could allow an attacker to bypass security restrictions, access sensitive data, or disrupt automation services within the affected environment.

Technical details

This vulnerability is classified as Incorrect Default Permissions (CWE-276) within the container build process of Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform. The /etc/passwd file was inadvertently created with group-writable permissions. An attacker who has already achieved local command execution within the container and is a member of the root group can modify /etc/passwd to add a new user with UID 0. This allows for full privilege escalation to root within the container environment. The attack requires local access and is characterized by high complexity due to the preconditions required for exploitation. Red Hat has released updated container images to address this issue.

Affected products

  • Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.4
  • Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5

Timeline

  • 2025-05-27: disclosed: CVE-2025-57847 assigned
  • 2026-04-08: advisory: Initial NVD publication
  • 2026-07-20: patched: Red Hat released security advisories RHSA-2026:42141 and RHSA-2026:42144

References