Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Older Ansible versions could accidentally reveal variable values during templating. If those variables contained secrets, credentials, or operational data, a lower-privileged user might obtain information they should not see. The issue is medium severity and fixed in Ansible 2.6.18, 2.7.12, and 2.8.2.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate operational security issue. It is not shown as actively exploited in the supplied sources, but older automation platforms may expose credentials or internal data if sensitive variables pass through vulnerable templating.
Technical view
CVE-2019-10156 is a CWE-200 information disclosure flaw in Ansible templating before 2.6.18, 2.7.12, and 2.8.2. Unexpected variable substitution could disclose the content of variables. The CVSS 3.0 score is 4.6 with network attack vector, low privileges, user interaction required, and limited confidentiality and integrity impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on systems running vulnerable Ansible 2.6, 2.7, or 2.8 releases, particularly automation environments where templates or playbooks process sensitive variables. Control nodes, CI jobs, and shared automation platforms should be prioritized for inventory checks.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited evidence of active exploitation. The CVSS vector indicates exploitation requires low privileges and user interaction. The practical risk depends on whether sensitive variables were available to affected templating paths.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports Ansible templating information disclosure fixed across 2.6, 2.7, and 2.8 branches. The bundle does not provide exploit details, proof of active exploitation, or exhaustive affected downstream package versions. Validate distribution backports rather than relying only on upstream version strings.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade Ansible to 2.6.18, 2.7.12, 2.8.2, or later supported releases.
- Apply relevant Red Hat or Debian security updates where Ansible is installed from packages.
- Review vendor advisories for distribution-specific package names and backported fixes.
- Reduce exposure of secrets in templates and playbook variables where feasible.
- Rotate credentials if investigation indicates sensitive variables may have been disclosed.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Ansible versions on control nodes, CI runners, and automation hosts.
- Confirm package versions include the referenced fixed Ansible releases or vendor backports.
- Review templates and playbooks that process sensitive variables.
- Check automation logs and generated artifacts for unintended variable disclosure.
- Verify shared automation users cannot influence sensitive templating inputs unnecessarily.
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.
CWE-200: Information exposure and cloud metadata lookup
Information exposure and SSRF weaknesses can make discovery, cloud metadata, and credential material review relevant. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2019-10156 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
- Medium
- CVSS
- 4.6 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
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 vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N2.12.5Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
4.6MediumVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2019-10156CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/57188CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- [debian-lts-announce] 20190916 [SECURITY] [DLA 1923-1] ansible security updateCVE reference · mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST
- RHSA-2019:3744CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHSA-2019:3789CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- [debian-lts-announce] 20210127 [SECURITY] [DLA 2535-1] ansible security updateCVE reference · mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST
- DSA-4950CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_DEBIAN
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.
Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor
Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.