CVE-2026-11837 Ansible-collection-ansible-posix: ansible.posix authorized_key: local privilege escalation via symlink-following chown

Description

A local privilege escalation vulnerability was found in the ansible.posix authorized_key module. The module's keyfile() function uses os.chown() instead of os.lchown() and opens files without O_NOFOLLOW when managing SSH authorized keys. An unprivileged local user can pre-stage symbolic links in their ~/.ssh directory to redirect file ownership changes to arbitrary system paths when an operator runs the authorized_key task as root, leading to local privilege escalation.

Exploitable with local access to the machine, with an ordinary account and if a user takes an action; an attacker can seriously compromise confidentiality, integrity or availability.

Attack vector

Local

Attack complexity

Low

Privileges required

Low

Interaction

Required

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Affected products and versions