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CVE-2021-20253· NVD / CVE Program· CNA redhat

A flaw was found in ansible-tower.

A flaw was found in ansible-tower. The default installation is vulnerable to Job Isolation escape allowing an attacker to elevate the privilege from a low privileged user to the awx user from outside the isolated environment. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to data confidentiality and integrity as well as system availability.

MediumCVSS 6.7 · v3.1—Proof of concept No fix recorded
Published
Mar 9, 2021
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
0.4% · 33th percentile
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Action score

26

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
26 / 40 · 6.7 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.4%

Noroxi analysis

No Noroxi analysis for this record yet

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Affected systems

VendorProduct
redhatansible tower

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • redhat ansible towerbefore 3.6.7
  • redhat ansible tower3.7.0 and later · before 3.7.5
  • redhat ansible tower3.8.0 and later · before 3.8.2

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (redhat). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • n/a ansible-tower

    • ansible-tower 3.8.2, ansible-tower 3.7.5, ansible-tower 3.6.7affected

Same product

redhat: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2018-16879Ansible Tower before version 3.3.3 does not set a secure channel as it is using the default insecure configuration channel settings for mess
    39Monitor
  • CVE-2018-1104Ansible Tower through version 3.2.3 has a vulnerability that allows users only with access to define variables for a job template to execute
    36Monitor
  • CVE-2018-10884Ansible Tower before versions 3.1.8 and 3.2.6 is vulnerable to cross-site request forgery (CSRF) in awx/api/authentication.py.
    35Monitor
  • CVE-2019-14890A vulnerability was found in Ansible Tower before 3.6.1 where an attacker with low privilege could retrieve usernames and passwords credenti
    33Monitor
  • CVE-2019-19340A flaw was found in Ansible Tower, versions 3.6.x before 3.6.2 and 3.5.x before 3.5.3, where enabling RabbitMQ manager by setting it with '-
    32Monitor
  • CVE-2016-7070A privilege escalation flaw was found in the Ansible Tower.
    32Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.

Exploit status

Proof of concept available

A public proof of concept or detection signature exists. Exploit knowledge is out there; don't delay patching.

Evidence

  • Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub ×1

Noroxi does not host or link to exploit code. Metasploit module names and Nuclei template ids are shown (names, not code); Exploit-DB entries and PoC repositories are given as counts only.

Public exploit evidence
SourceKindDate
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:12023-11-25

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

  1. Published
  2. First PoC+990 d
  3. TodayOct 4, 2026+2035 d
EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • A low-privileged account is enough.
  • A user must open a link or visit a page.
  • Special conditions such as timing or configuration are required.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
High
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-552 · Files or Directories Accessible to External Parties

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

Change log

No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.

References

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records