EUVD-2026-45954
GHSA-j5cg-p988-g42q
Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessAuthenticate to Pulp admin API
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DeliveryUpload attacker-controlled artifact
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ExploitCraft relative_path with ../ traversal
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ExecutionTrigger FilesystemExport operation
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PersistWrite file outside export directory
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ImpactAchieve code execution or persistence as service user
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V5 - File Handling Path canonicalization, traversal prevention
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Discovery, Collection The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires an authenticated Pulp administrator (CVSS PR:H) with the ability to (1) upload an artifact whose content the attacker controls and (2) invoke a FilesystemExport operation supplying a crafted relative_path containing embedded '../' traversal sequences. The concrete prerequisite is that the FilesystemExport feature is used/available and the target write path is writable by the Pulp service user - arbitrary write is bounded by that service account's filesystem permissions. Limiting factors: it is not exploitable by anonymous or low-privileged users (admin credentials/role required), no user interaction by a victim is needed (UI:N), and impact scales with how permissive the Pulp service user's OS privileges are. This is a privileged-insider or stolen-admin-credential scenario, not a default-configuration unauthenticated attack. |
| Impact | The signals are mostly consistent toward high but not maximal real-world urgency. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C, C:L/I:H/A:H) yields 9.0 largely because of scope change and high integrity/availability impact, but the PR:H requirement is the key limiter: exploitation requires an authenticated administrator, so this is a privilege-escalation/persistence primitive for an already-trusted actor rather than an anonymous remote break-in. No EPSS score, KEV listing, or POC was provided - so there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and no evidence of active exploitation; treat the 9.0 as severity, not imminence. The most notable tension is AV:N combined with PR:H: the admin API is network-reachable, yet the trust required means the practical threat model is a malicious or compromised Pulp administrator, or an attacker who has already stolen admin credentials. Prioritize patching on internet-adjacent or multi-tenant Pulp/Satellite/RHUI deployments where admin roles are delegated, but it is not a drop-everything unauthenticated RCE. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | A malicious or credential-compromised Pulp administrator uploads an artifact whose bytes are a crafted cron job or SSH authorized_keys entry, then triggers a FilesystemExport with a relative_path such as 'a/b/../../../../etc/cron.d/pwn'. The traversal escapes the export directory and writes the attacker's content to a location owned by root-adjacent automation, achieving code execution or persistence as the system processes the planted file. No public exploit code is currently identified, but the technique is straightforward given administrative access. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Jul 20, 2026
Arbitrary file write in pulpcore's FilesystemExport feature allows an authenticated administrator to escape the intended export directory via directory-traversal sequences embedded in a user-controlled relative_path. Because the exported file content is also attacker-supplied (an uploaded artifact), the flaw lets a privileged user plant or overwrite arbitrary files anywhere the Pulp service user can write, enabling service compromise or broader host takeover. Rated CVSS 9.0 and reported by Red Hat, it affects pulpcore as embedded in Ansible Automation Platform 2, Satellite 6, and Red Hat Update Infrastructure 4/5; there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis.
RemediationAI
No vendor-released patch version is identified in the provided data - the references point to the Red Hat CVE page (https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-12701) and Bugzilla 2490703 (https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2490703) rather than to a tagged errata, so consult those pages for the fixed pulpcore/product builds and apply them once published (via dnf update for Satellite/RHUI or the AAP update channels). As compensating controls until patched: restrict and audit who holds Pulp administrator/export privileges, since exploitation requires PR:H; avoid or disable FilesystemExport where it is not operationally needed, accepting the trade-off that legitimate filesystem exports will stop working; constrain the Pulp service user's filesystem permissions and consider SELinux confinement so that even a successful traversal cannot write to sensitive paths like /etc; and monitor export requests for relative_path values containing '../' sequences. Network-restrict the Pulp admin API to trusted management segments to reduce the exposure implied by the AV:N vector.
Affected VersionsENISA
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Technical ContextAI · show details
Pulp (pulpcore) is a Python-based content-management platform that stores and publishes software artifacts (RPMs, container images, Ansible content) and underpins several Red Hat products. The defect is a CWE-22 Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory: the relative_path_validator function enforces only that a path does not start with '/', treating that single check as sufficient sanitization. It never normalizes or rejects '../' segments occurring elsewhere in the string, so a value like 'looking/normal/../../../../etc/shadow' passes validation and, during a FilesystemExport operation, resolves outside the designated export root. Combined with attacker-controlled artifact bytes, the traversal converts an intended in-directory write into an arbitrary-location write bounded only by the Pulp service account's filesystem permissions.
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:H
Network-reachable admin API (AV:N/AC:L) but administrator privileges required (PR:H); traversal writes outside Pulp's control boundary (S:C) enabling arbitrary file write with high integrity/availability and limited confidentiality impact.
Primary rating from Vendor (redhat).
CVSS VectorVendor: redhat
DescriptionCVE.org
A path traversal vulnerability was found in pulpcore. The relative_path_validator function only verifies that content paths do not begin with "/" but fails to block directory traversal sequences such as "../" anywhere in the path. An authenticated administrator can craft a relative_path containing embedded traversal sequences (e.g., "looking/normal/../../../../etc/shadow") that escapes the intended export directory during FilesystemExport operations. Because the file content is also user-controlled (uploaded artifact), this allows arbitrary file write to any location writable by the Pulp service user, potentially leading to service compromise or further system exploitation.
Executive ViewAI
Pulpcore-embedded in Ansible Automation Platform 2, Satellite 6, and Red Hat Update Infrastructure-contains a critical arbitrary file-write vulnerability that allows privileged administrators to overwrite system files and compromise affected hosts. Organizations relying on these enterprise products for automation and package management face immediate risk of service disruption and potential host takeover. Urgent action to restrict administrative access and isolate affected systems is required until Red Hat releases a patch.
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations: (1) Restrict FilesystemExport feature access to essential administrative personnel only through role-based access controls; (2) disable FilesystemExport functionality entirely if operationally feasible; (3) deploy enhanced file integrity monitoring and change detection on affected systems; (4) isolate affected infrastructure to a restricted network segment to contain lateral movement risk; (5) maintain elevated audit logging for all administrative activities on these platforms.
Threat Intelligence Overview
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
VulDB
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Path traversal exploits occur when applications use user-controlled input to construct file system paths without proper validation.
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