Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is an old Ansible flaw where an authenticated remote user could make the user-management module run arbitrary commands. In business terms, exposure matters most where legacy Ansible controls privileged system administration tasks. The source bundle does not show current exploitation or a CVSS score.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation if legacy Ansible still manages production systems or privileged accounts. If the organization only runs current Ansible versions, treat this as a legacy hygiene finding rather than an emergency.
Technical view
CVE-2014-3498 affects the Ansible user module before 1.6.6. The published description says authenticated remote users could execute arbitrary commands. The bundle identifies an upstream Ansible commit and Red Hat Bugzilla reference, but does not provide CVSS, CWE, detailed root cause, or exploit evidence.
Likely exposure
Likely exposure is limited to environments still running Ansible before 1.6.6 and using the user module. Modern supported Ansible versions are not shown as affected by the supplied sources. Authentication is required, but Ansible often runs with administrative reach, raising impact.
Exploitation context
The CVE is not listed as KEV in the bundle, and no cited source states active exploitation. The known exploitation condition is authenticated remote access. The source bundle does not provide public exploit details or reliable prevalence data.
Researcher notes
Evidence is sparse. The CVE description establishes product, version boundary, authentication requirement, and command-execution impact. The bundle does not include CVSS, CWE, proof-of-concept status, or detailed exploit mechanics, so validation should focus on version inventory and module usage.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade Ansible to version 1.6.6 or later where legacy versions remain in use.
- Review the upstream Ansible commit and vendor guidance for the exact fix context.
- Restrict who can run Ansible playbooks and modules against managed hosts.
- Audit legacy automation hosts for unsupported Ansible installations.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Ansible versions on automation controllers, developer workstations, and CI runners.
- Identify playbooks or roles that use the Ansible user module.
- Confirm systems are not running Ansible versions earlier than 1.6.6.
- Check vendor advisories or package changelogs for CVE-2014-3498 coverage.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CVE-2014-3498 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/ansible/ansible/commit/8ed6350e65c82292a631f08845dfaacffe7f07f5CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1335551CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.