# CVE-2026-55074: Ansible FreeBSD Jail Connection Plugin: Jail escape via symlink following in put_file (host-side root mv)

> A jail escape vulnerability allows attackers with jail access to perform arbitrary root-owned writes on the host via symlink following, leading to host compromise.

- **Severity:** High 8.2 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 21 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 21 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-cxgv-hp74-jj7r, PYSEC-2026-3658

## What is CVE-2026-55074?

CVE-2026-55074 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in chofstede ansible_jailexec, published on 21 Sep 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Ansible FreeBSD Jail Connection Plugin is an Ansible connection plugin for FreeBSD Jails via jexec. Through version 1.3.0, the jailexec connection plugin's put_file resolved a transfer's destination to a path on the jail host ( + ) and ran mkdir -p and mv there as root on the host. Those commands follow symbolic links, and the path was operated on outside the jail, so a symlink existing inside the jail was followed by the host-side, root-privileged mv. A party controlling content inside a managed jail (the jail's root, or any process able to create a symlink in a directory an Ansible task later writes to) can therefore cause an arbitrary root-owned write on the host, outside the jail — a full jail escape. Arbitrary root-owned host writes are readily escalated to host compromise (e.g. cron, rc.d, authorized_keys). Preconditions for this vulnerability are that the operator runs a copy/template/fetch-style task (anything using put_file) against the jail, and the attacker can place a symlink inside the jail at or above the task's destination before the transfer runs. This issue has been fixed in version 2.0.0.

Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-55074?

3 open source packages ship an affected version, including ansible-jailexec.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `ansible-jailexec` | PyPI | All versions | 2.0.0 |
| `ansible-jailexec` | PyPI | All versions | 2.0.0 |
| `ansible-jailexec` | PyPI | All versions | 2.0.0 |

## How do I fix CVE-2026-55074?

Upgrade ansible-jailexec to 2.0.0 or later.

## Is CVE-2026-55074 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-55074 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-55074 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-55074 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in chofstede ansible_jailexec, published on 21 Sep 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-55074 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- ansible-jailexec (PyPI): affected all versions; fixed in 2.0.0
- ansible-jailexec (PyPI): affected all versions; fixed in 2.0.0
- ansible-jailexec (PyPI): affected all versions; fixed in 2.0.0

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-2026-55074/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-55074/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-55074
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-55074
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-55074

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-55074/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.