How severe is CVE-2018-16879?

CVE-2018-16879 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2018-16879 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (62nd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2018-16879?

CVE-2018-16879 affects Redhat Ansible Tower. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2018-16879?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2018-16879 published?

CVE-2018-16879 was published on 2019-01-03 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2018-16879

CVE-2018-16879 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Redhat Ansible Tower with a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-311.

Key facts

Severity: Critical (CVSS 3.x base score 9.8)
CVSS v2: 7.5
EPSS exploit prediction: 1% (62nd percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-311
Affected product: Redhat Ansible Tower
Published: 2019-01-03
Last modified: 2026-06-17

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.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2018-16879?: 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.
How severe is CVE-2018-16879?: CVE-2018-16879 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2018-16879 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (62nd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2018-16879?: CVE-2018-16879 affects Redhat Ansible Tower. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2018-16879?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2018-16879 published?: CVE-2018-16879 was published on 2019-01-03 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:redhat:ansible_tower:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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