CVE-2026-71364 Awx: project archive extraction allows path traversal file writes
Attackers can write arbitrary files via malicious archives in AWX, potentially achieving remote code execution on execution nodes.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- An administrator
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-71364?
CVE-2026-71364 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 for RHEL 8, published on 24 Aug 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Official description
A path traversal vulnerability was found in AWX's project archive extraction. The project_archive action plugin extracts zip and tar archive members by joining the project directory path with the member filename without performing path normalization, boundary validation, or rejecting directory traversal sequences. A malicious archive containing members with path traversal components can write files to arbitrary locations on the execution node's filesystem outside the intended project directory. An attacker who controls the archive content, either through a compromised upstream source, a malicious archive URL, or a man-in-the-middle attack on a plain HTTP connection, can achieve arbitrary file writes as the user performing the extraction, potentially leading to remote code execution through mechanisms such as cron files, SSH authorized keys, or playbook content injection.
Weakness: CWE-22
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-71364?
How do I fix CVE-2026-71364?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.
Is CVE-2026-71364 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-71364 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as CVE-2026-104710, GHSA-6v7v-pp54-gr28.