📄 Description (English)
A container privilege escalation flaw was found in certain Ansible Automation Platform images. This issue arises from the /etc/passwd file being created with group-writable permissions during the build process. In certain conditions, an attacker who can execute commands within an affected container, even as a non-root user, can leverage their membership in the root group to modify the /etc/passwd file. This vulnerability allows an attacker to add a new user with any arbitrary UID, including UID 0, gaining full root privileges within the container.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
A privilege escalation vulnerability in Ansible Automation Platform container images allows non-root users to modify /etc/passwd due to group-writable permissions, enabling arbitrary UID assignment including UID 0 for root access. This affects containerized deployments of Ansible Automation Platform where attackers with container execution capabilities can escalate privileges. While no patch is currently available, immediate compensating controls are essential for organizations running affected container images in production environments.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: May 14, 2026 03:41
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
Saudi organizations using Ansible Automation Platform for infrastructure automation and DevOps operations face significant risk, particularly in: (1) Government agencies and NCA-regulated entities managing critical infrastructure automation; (2) ARAMCO and energy sector organizations using Ansible for operational technology orchestration; (3) Banking and financial institutions (SAMA-regulated) leveraging Ansible for secure deployment pipelines; (4) Telecom operators (STC, Mobily) using containerized Ansible for network automation. The vulnerability is particularly critical for organizations running Ansible in Kubernetes clusters or Docker environments where container escape could lead to cluster-wide compromise. Saudi organizations with strict compliance requirements under NCA ECC 2024 and SAMA CSF face elevated risk if affected containers are not properly isolated.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Government and Public Administration
Banking and Financial Services
Energy and Utilities
Telecommunications
Healthcare
Critical Infrastructure
🎯 MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
T1548.001 - Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism: Setuid and Setgid
T1548.003 - Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism: Sudo and Sudo Caching
T1548.004 - Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism: Elevated Execution with Prompt
T1134.001 - Access Token Manipulation: Token Impersonation or Theft
T1547.001 - Boot or Logon Initialization Scripts: Logon Script (Windows)
T1547.004 - Boot or Logon Initialization Scripts: Network Logon Script
T1098.001 - Account Manipulation: Additional Cloud Credentials
T1098.002 - Account Manipulation: Exchange Email Delegate Permissions
T1098.003 - Account Manipulation: Additional Container Cluster Roles
T1098.004 - Account Manipulation: SSH Authorized Keys
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
7.2
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
Immediate Actions:
1. Inventory all Ansible Automation Platform container images in use and identify affected versions
2. Implement strict container runtime security policies restricting group membership modifications
3. Apply principle of least privilege: run containers as non-root users with minimal group memberships
4. Implement network segmentation to limit lateral movement from compromised containers
Compensating Controls (until patch available):
1. Use read-only root filesystem (--read-only flag) for container deployments where possible
2. Implement AppArmor or SELinux profiles to prevent /etc/passwd modifications
3. Deploy container image scanning tools to detect unauthorized /etc/passwd modifications at runtime
4. Use admission controllers (Kubernetes) to enforce pod security policies preventing privileged containers
5. Implement file integrity monitoring (FIM) on /etc/passwd within containers
6. Restrict container execution capabilities using seccomp profiles
Detection Rules:
1. Monitor for processes attempting to write to /etc/passwd from non-root users
2. Alert on UID 0 user creation attempts within containers
3. Track group membership changes in /etc/group files
4. Monitor for unexpected user additions via useradd/usermod commands
5. Implement auditd rules: audit -w /etc/passwd -p wa -k passwd_changes
Patching Strategy:
1. Monitor Red Hat/Ansible security advisories for patch availability
2. Prepare container image rebuild procedures with corrected permissions (644 for /etc/passwd)
3. Establish testing environment for patched images before production deployment
4. Plan phased rollout of patched images across environments
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. قم بحصر جميع صور حاويات منصة أتمتة Ansible قيد الاستخدام وتحديد الإصدارات المتأثرة
2. تطبيق سياسات أمان وقت تشغيل الحاويات الصارمة التي تقيد تعديلات عضوية المجموعة
3. تطبيق مبدأ أقل امتياز: تشغيل الحاويات كمستخدمين غير جذر مع عضويات مجموعة محدودة
4. تطبيق تقسيم الشبكة لتحديد الحركة الجانبية من الحاويات المخترقة
الضوابط التعويضية (حتى توفر التصحيح):
1. استخدم نظام الملفات الجذري للقراءة فقط (علم --read-only) لنشرات الحاويات حيث أمكن
2. تطبيق ملفات تعريف AppArmor أو SELinux لمنع تعديلات /etc/passwd
3. نشر أدوات فحص صور الحاويات للكشف عن تعديلات /etc/passwd غير المصرح بها في وقت التشغيل
4. استخدام وحدات التحكم في القبول (Kubernetes) لفرض سياسات أمان Pod
5. تطبيق مراقبة سلامة الملفات (FIM) على /etc/passwd داخل الحاويات
6. تقييد إمكانيات تنفيذ الحاويات باستخدام ملفات تعريف seccomp
قواعد الكشف:
1. مراقبة العمليات التي تحاول الكتابة إلى /etc/passwd من مستخدمين غير جذر
2. تنبيهات محاولات إنشاء مستخدم UID 0 داخل الحاويات
3. تتبع تغييرات عضوية المجموعة في ملفات /etc/group
4. مراقبة إضافات المستخدمين غير المتوقعة عبر أوامر useradd/usermod
5. تطبيق قواعد auditd: audit -w /etc/passwd -p wa -k passwd_changes
استراتيجية التصحيح:
1. مراقبة استشارات أمان Red Hat/Ansible لتوفر التصحيح
2. تحضير إجراءات إعادة بناء صور الحاويات بأذونات مصححة (644 لـ /etc/passwd)
3. إنشاء بيئة اختبار لصور مصححة قبل نشر الإنتاج
4. التخطيط لنشر متدرج للصور المصححة عبر البيئات
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
A.5.1.1 - Information security policies and procedures
A.6.1.1 - Access control policy
A.6.2.1 - User registration and de-registration
A.8.2.1 - Classification of information
A.8.3.1 - Handling of assets
A.12.4.1 - Event logging
A.12.4.3 - Administrator and operator logs
🔵 SAMA CSF
ID.AM-2 - Software platforms and applications are inventoried
PR.AC-1 - Identities and credentials are issued and managed securely
PR.AC-2 - Physical access is managed
PR.AC-3 - Remote access is managed
PR.AC-4 - Access rights and privileges are managed
DE.CM-1 - The network is monitored to detect potential cybersecurity events
DE.CM-3 - Personnel activity is monitored to detect potential cybersecurity events
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
5.3 - Segregation of duties
6.2 - People screening
8.1 - Inventory of assets
8.2 - Ownership of assets
8.3 - Acceptable use of assets
9.1 - Access control policy
9.2 - User access management
9.4 - Access rights review
12.4 - Logging