Authorization Bypass in Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform Gateway
CVE-2026-94416 Published on September 24, 2026
Aap-gateway: aap-gateway: authorization bypass via workload identity token forgery
An authorization bypass was found in the Ansible Automation Platform (AAP) gateway. The gateway API allows an authenticated administrator to create a new service key for the Controller service cluster. Because service-key creation is not restricted to the installer-provisioned provisioning path, an administrator-issued key is cryptographically indistinguishable from a legitimate one and can be used to forge a service-authentication token that impersonates the Controller service. Combined with the gateway OIDC workload-identity endpoint (enabled via FEATURE_OIDC_WORKLOAD_IDENTITY_ENABLED), the attacker can drive the gateway to sign Workload Identity Tokens (WITs) for arbitrary Controller workloads. A downstream resource server such as HashiCorp Vault that trusts the gateway OIDC key will accept the forged WIT and return the AAP credentials bound to that workload, disclosing secrets beyond the attacker's authorization boundary.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2026-94416 is exploitable with network access, and requires user privileges. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to have a high impact on confidentiality, with no impact on integrity and availability.
Timeline
Reported to Red Hat.
Made public. 2 days later.
Weakness Type
Authentication Bypass by Spoofing
This attack-focused weakness is caused by improperly implemented authentication schemes that are subject to spoofing attacks.
Products Associated with CVE-2026-94416
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