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CVE-2018-16859

4.2 · MEDIUM

Execution of Ansible playbooks on Windows platforms with PowerShell ScriptBlock logging and Module logging enabled can allow for 'become' passwords to appear in EventLogs in plaintext.

Published Nov 29, 2018CWE-532EPSS 0.54%

Overview

CVE-2018-16859 is a medium-severity vulnerability. It was published on November 29, 2018 and has a CVSS 3.0 base score of 4.2 (MEDIUM).

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.0 base score of 4.2, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.

Technical description

Execution of Ansible playbooks on Windows platforms with PowerShell ScriptBlock logging and Module logging enabled can allow for 'become' passwords to appear in EventLogs in plaintext. A local user with administrator privileges on the machine can view these logs and discover the plaintext password. Ansible Engine 2.8 and older are believed to be vulnerable.

Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

References

Reflists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-04/msg00021.htmlReflists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-06/msg00077.htmlReflists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-08/msg00020.htmlRefwww.securityfocus.com/bid/106004Refaccess.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3770Refaccess.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3771Refaccess.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3772Refaccess.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3773Refbugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-16859GitHubgithub.com/ansible/ansible/pull/49142

How CyberStrike helps

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2018-16859?

CVE-2018-16859 is a medium-severity vulnerability. It was published on November 29, 2018 and has a CVSS 3.0 base score of 4.2 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2018-16859?

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.0 base score of 4.2, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.

How do I fix or remediate CVE-2018-16859?

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2018-16859?

CyberStrike is an open-source, AI-augmented pentesting engine. Rather than flag a version number, it tests whether an issue like CVE-2018-16859 is actually reachable in your own applications and APIs, then verifies each finding before reporting it. That tells you if the weakness is a real, exploitable risk in your environment or a false positive you can safely deprioritize.

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