CVE-2026-16544

Summary

A flaw was found in AWX. The websocket event consumer performs RBAC authorization checks only for event groups that are mapped in the consumer_access() function (job_events, workflow_events, ad_hoc_command_events). Three event groups - inventory_update_events, project_update_events, and system_job_events — are not mapped, causing the authorization check to be skipped. Any authenticated user can subscribe to these unmapped websocket event groups for any object ID and receive real-time stdout output from jobs belonging to organizations they have no access to. This is an incomplete remediation of CVE-2020-10698.

Affected Software

VendorProductVersion RangeStatus

Weaknesses

  • CWE-862: Missing Authorization

Workarounds

The following practices would help for avoiding exposure and mitigate this flaw:

  • Restrict AWX/Controller user account creation to only trusted individuals. Since any authenticated user can exploit this flaw regardless of role, minimizing the number of user accounts reduces the attack surface.
  • Use external authentication (LDAP, SAML, OIDC) with strict group mappings to prevent self-registration and ensure only authorized users can log in.
  • Review the list of AWX/Controller users and remove or deactivate any accounts that are no longer needed.
  • Monitor websocket connections and subscriptions for unusual patterns, such as a user subscribing to inventory_update_events or project_update_events for object IDs outside their organization.
  • Avoid embedding credentials in SCM URLs or inventory source configurations, as these may appear in stdout output. Use credential objects instead.
  • Apply network segmentation to restrict access to the AWX/Controller web interface to trusted networks only.

ADP Enrichment

CISA ADP Vulnrichment

  • SSVC:
  • Exploitation: none
    • Automatable: no
    • Technical Impact: partial

References