CVE-2018-16879
Description
Ansible Tower before version 3.3.3 does not set a secure channel as it is using the default insecure configuration channel settings for messaging celery workers from RabbitMQ. This could lead in data leak of sensitive information such as passwords as well as denial of service attacks by deleting projects or inventory files.
AI Insight
LLM-synthesized narrative grounded in this CVE's description and references.
Ansible Tower <3.3.3 uses an insecure RabbitMQ channel due to a misconfigured broker URL, leading to data leaks and denial of service.
Vulnerability
Ansible Tower before version 3.3.3 does not set a secure channel for messaging between Celery workers and RabbitMQ. The configuration key BROKER_URL, which controls secure channel settings, is incorrectly set as CHANNEL_BROKER_URL, which is ineffective. This misconfiguration leaves the default insecure channel active, affecting all deployments using default settings [1].
Exploitation
An attacker with network access to the RabbitMQ message broker can leverage the insecure channel to send arbitrary messages to Celery workers. No authentication or specific user interaction is required beyond network proximity to the broker [1].
Impact
Successful exploitation allows an attacker to read sensitive information, including passwords, transmitted via the message queue. Additionally, the attacker can perform denial of service (DoS) attacks by deleting projects or inventory files controlled by the Tower instance [1].
Mitigation
Red Hat released a fix in Ansible Tower version 3.3.3, which correctly sets the BROKER_URL configuration to enable a secure channel. Users should upgrade to 3.3.3 or later. No workaround is provided for earlier versions [1].
AI Insight generated on May 26, 2026. Synthesized from this CVE's description and the cited reference URLs; citations are validated against the source bundle.
Affected products
2- Range: <3.3.3
Patches
0No patches discovered yet.
Vulnerability mechanics
AI mechanics synthesis has not run for this CVE yet.
References
2- www.securityfocus.com/bid/106310mitrevdb-entryx_refsource_BID
- bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgimitrex_refsource_CONFIRM
News mentions
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