Medium severity · published Sep 23, 2026
CVE-2026-84716
Automation-controller: automation-controller: instance install_bundle issues 10-year, non-revocable receptor mesh-ca certificates for caller-chosen (and case-variant impersonating) hostnames
6.6
CVSS
0.2%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
A flaw was found in the automation-controller instance
install-bundle endpoint. When a System Administrator downloads
an execution/hop node's install bundle, the controller signs an
X.509 certificate with the receptor mesh certificate authority
in which the Common Name, DNS subject-alternative-name, and
receptor node-id are taken verbatim from the caller-chosen
instance hostname, with a hard-coded ten-year validity, a random
serial, and no issuance log or revocation list. Because the
hostname charset validator is case-insensitive while the
uniqueness validator is case-sensitive, an administrator can
register a case variant of an existing control node's hostname
and obtain a mesh-CA-signed certificate that TLS peers, which
match hostnames case-insensitively, accept as that control node.
In managed/hosted deployments — where the customer holds
controller superuser but the platform operator runs the mesh —
this yields a long-lived, non-revocable mesh peer credential and,
with an on-path position, TLS impersonation or interception of
control/hybrid mesh nodes. It does not grant direct remote code
execution, because receptor work submission is gated by a
separate signing key not included in the bundle.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
High
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
Low
Availability
None
Scope
Changed
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.2% · higher than 7% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
RH
Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 for RHEL 8 · Red Hat
All versions, or not specified · source: vendor
RH
Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 for RHEL 9 · Red Hat
All versions, or not specified · source: vendor
RH
Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 · Red Hat
All versions, or not specified · source: vendor
RH
Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.6 for RHEL 9 · Red Hat
All versions, or not specified · source: vendor
RH
Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.7 · Red Hat
All versions, or not specified · source: vendor
Affected product
RH
Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 for RHEL 8
Red Hat
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-84716
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-84716
access.redhat.com
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:71113
access.redhat.com
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:71114
access.redhat.com
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:71177
access.redhat.com
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:71179
access.redhat.com
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-84716
bugzilla.redhat.com
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2527199
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