# CVE-2026-44191: Red Hat Ansible Lightspeed extension command injection in VS Code

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-44191-red-hat-ansible-lightspeed-extension-command-injection-in-vs-code  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-07-22. Updated: 2026-07-22  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-44191 · Severity: high · CVSS 7.8 · Published 2026-07-22

A security vulnerability exists in the Ansible Lightspeed extension for Visual Studio Code, a tool used by developers to automate IT tasks. By tricking a user into using specific malicious configuration settings, an attacker can execute unauthorized commands on the user's computer. This could allow an attacker to steal sensitive data, install malware, or take full control of the developer's workstation.

Technologies: [Red Hat Ansible Lightspeed extension for Visual Studio Code](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/ansible-lightspeed-extension-for-visual-studio-code). Vendors: [Red Hat](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/red-hat).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-44191 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-44191 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-44191?** High severity, with a CVSS score of 7.8, published 22 July 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Red Hat Ansible Lightspeed extension for Visual Studio Code All versions prior to fix.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-44191?** No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.

**How is CVE-2026-44191 attacked?** It is attacked with local access, in a software library.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-44191?** Check whether you run Red Hat Ansible Lightspeed extension for Visual Studio Code 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.

## Technical details

A command injection vulnerability (CWE-78) exists in the Visual Studio Code Ansible Lightspeed extension due to improper neutralization of shell separators in the 'ansible.executionEnvironment.containerOptions' and 'ansible.executionEnvironment.volumeMounts' settings. An attacker can exploit this by providing a malicious workspace configuration that includes shell metacharacters. The injection can be triggered automatically during the Language Server Protocol (LSP) initialization or manually when a user executes an Ansible playbook. Successful exploitation grants the attacker remote code execution (RCE) with the privileges of the user running VS Code. The vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2026-44191 and has been identified in Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform environments.

## Affected products

- Red Hat Ansible Lightspeed extension for Visual Studio Code All versions prior to fix
- Red Hat Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 2.5, 2.6

## Timeline

- 2026-05-05: other: Initial report in Red Hat Bugzilla
- 2026-07-22: disclosed: Public disclosure of CVE-2026-44191

## References

- [https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/](https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/)
- [https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-44191](https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-44191)
- [https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2466761](https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2466761)

## Related threats

- [Red Hat Ansible Lightspeed extension command injection in AnsiblePlaybookRunProvider](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-44189-red-hat-ansible-lightspeed-extension-command-injection-in)
- [Red Hat Ansible Lightspeed plaintext API key storage in VS Code extension](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-44187-red-hat-ansible-lightspeed-plaintext-api-key-storage-in-vs-code)