# CVE-2026-94416: Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform authorization bypass in gateway

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-94416-an-authorization-bypass-was-found-in-the-ansible-automation  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-09-24. Updated: 2026-09-26  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-94416 · Severity: medium · CVSS 6.8 · Published 2026-09-24

An authorization bypass was found in the Ansible Automation Platform (AAP) gateway that allows an authenticated administrator to forge service authentication tokens and request unauthorized Workload Identity Tokens. When the OIDC workload-identity feature is enabled, an attacker can leverage forged tokens to impersonate arbitrary Controller workloads and extract sensitive credentials from downstream systems such as HashiCorp Vault, including cloud keys, SSH private keys, and service-account credentials that far exceed their original authorization scope.

Technologies: [Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/ansible-automation-platform-2). Vendors: [Red Hat](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/red-hat).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-94416 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-94416 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-94416?** Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 6.8, published 24 September 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 through 2.7.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-94416?** 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-2026-94416 attacked?** It is attacked over the network.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-94416?** Check whether you run Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 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

An authenticated administrator can create a service key that is cryptographically indistinguishable from installer-provisioned keys due to lack of restriction on the service-key creation path. When FEATURE_OIDC_WORKLOAD_IDENTITY_ENABLED is active, the attacker can forge service-authentication tokens to drive the gateway's OIDC endpoint into signing Workload Identity Tokens for arbitrary Controller workloads, enabling token forgery attacks. A downstream OIDC-trusting resource server will accept the forged WIT and return credentials bound to that workload, disclosing secrets beyond the attacker's authorization boundary.

## Affected products

- Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 through 2.7

## Timeline

- 2026-09-24: disclosed

## References

- [https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/](https://access.redhat.com/downloads/content/package-browser/)
- [https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-94416](https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-94416)

## Related threats

- [AWX WebSocket consumer incorrect authorization](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-71367-an-incorrect-authorization-vulnerability-was-found-in-awx-s)
- [Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform cleartext storage of resource-server secret](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-126643-a-cleartext-storage-flaw-was-found-in-the-aap-gateway-operator)
- [Pulpcore expression language injection in content guard](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-123084-an-expression-language-injection-has-been-found-in-the)
- [Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform stored XSS in Hub documentation renderer](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-109131-the-hub-collection-module-documentation-renderer-in-the-unified)
- [Ansible Operator Jinja2 template injection](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-92982-a-flaw-was-found-in-ansible-operator-plugins-a-low-privileged)