# CVE-2026-16493: Ansible-core: argument injection in ansible-galaxy collection install via git clone (incomplete fix for cve-2026-11332)

> Attackers can execute arbitrary commands via crafted git URIs during ansible-galaxy collection installation due to missing argument separators.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 21 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 4 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-93102, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-16493, ECHO-71ba-bfe4-f745, GHSA-m37p-hmh2-w6j2, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-16493, openSUSE-SU-2026:12052-1, openSUSE-SU-2026:12053-1, openSUSE-SU-2026:12054-1, openSUSE-SU-2026:12055-1

## What is CVE-2026-16493?

CVE-2026-16493 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2, published on 21 Jul 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

A flaw was found in ansible-core. The _extract_collection_from_git() function in ansible-core's concrete_artifact_manager.py constructs git clone commands without a '--' (end-of-options) separator before user-supplied URLs when installing collections from git sources. An attacker who provides a crafted collection source URI containing git argument injection payloads can achieve arbitrary command execution when a user runs 'ansible-galaxy collection install' with the malicious source. This is an incomplete fix for CVE-2026-11332, which hardened the role install path but missed the equivalent collection install code path.

Weakness: CWE-88 (Improper Neutralization of Argument Delimiters in a Command)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-16493?


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `ansible-core` | openSUSE:Tumbleweed | All versions | 2.21.4-2.1 |
| `ansible-core-2.18` | openSUSE:Tumbleweed | All versions | 2.18.19-2.1 |
| `ansible-core-2.19` | openSUSE:Tumbleweed | All versions | 2.19.13-2.1 |
| `ansible-core-2.20` | openSUSE:Tumbleweed | All versions | 2.20.9-2.1 |

## How do I fix CVE-2026-16493?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-16493 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-16493 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-16493 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-16493 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2, published on 21 Jul 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-16493 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-16493/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-16493/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-16493
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-16493
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-16493

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-16493/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.