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

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS 4.0

7.7 · CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N · score source

EPSS

• CVE-2026-55074: 0.44% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 38.41 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Through version 1.3.0, the jailexec connection plugin's putfile resolved a transfer's destination to a path on the jail host (<jail filesystem root + <destination) 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, authorizedkeys). Preconditions: the operator runs a copy/template/fetch-style task (anything using putfile) against the jail, and the attacker can place a symlink inside the jail at or above the task's destination before the transfer runs. Patches: Fixed in…

Published by the source

12 Aug 2026, 23:21 UTC

Last modified by the source

13 Aug 2026, 15:58 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 13:50 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-cxgv-hp74-jj7r

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-55074

Advisory: Ansible FreeBSD Jail Connection Plugin: Jail escape via symlink following in put_file (host-side root mv)
IDs: CVE-2026-55074, GHSA-cxgv-hp74-jj7r
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-55074 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 13:50 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: High (CVSS 7.7)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: ansible-jailexec 2.0.0. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- PyPI ansible-jailexec: affected < 2.0.0; fixed in 2.0.0

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- `python -m pip show ansible-jailexec`: prints the installed version. Run with the environment that serves production active.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on ansible-jailexec.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-cxgv-hp74-jj7r (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-cxgv-hp74-jj7r lists affected ranges: PyPI ansible-jailexec >=0 <2.0.0)

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