How severe is CVE-2020-1740?

CVE-2020-1740 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 3.9, rated low severity. It is exploitable over local access with high attack complexity, requires low privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is low, integrity low, and availability none.

Is CVE-2020-1740 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (29th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2020-1740?

CVE-2020-1740 primarily affects Redhat Ansible. In total, 9 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2020-1740?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

When was CVE-2020-1740 published?

CVE-2020-1740 was published on 2020-03-16 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2020-1740

CVE-2020-1740 is a low-severity vulnerability in Redhat Ansible with a CVSS 3.x base score of 3.9. 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-377.

Key facts

Severity: Low (CVSS 3.x base score 3.9)
CVSS v2: 1.9
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (29th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-377
Affected product: Redhat Ansible
Published: 2020-03-16
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

A flaw was found in Ansible Engine when using Ansible Vault for editing encrypted files. When a user executes "ansible-vault edit", another user on the same computer can read the old and new secret, as it is created in a temporary file with mkstemp and the returned file descriptor is closed and the method write_data is called to write the existing secret in the file. This method will delete the file before recreating it insecurely. All versions in 2.7.x, 2.8.x and 2.9.x branches are believed to be vulnerable.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-1740?: A flaw was found in Ansible Engine when using Ansible Vault for editing encrypted files. When a user executes "ansible-vault edit", another user on the same computer can read the old and new secret, as it is created in a temporary file with mkstemp and the returned file descriptor is closed and the method write_data is called to write the existing secret in the file. This method will delete the file before recreating it insecurely. All versions in 2.7.x, 2.8.x and 2.9.x branches are believed to be vulnerable.
How severe is CVE-2020-1740?: CVE-2020-1740 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 3.9, rated low severity. It is exploitable over local access with high attack complexity, requires low privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is low, integrity low, and availability none.
Is CVE-2020-1740 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (29th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2020-1740?: CVE-2020-1740 primarily affects Redhat Ansible. In total, 9 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2020-1740?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2020-1740 published?: CVE-2020-1740 was published on 2020-03-16 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (9)

cpe:2.3:a:redhat:ansible:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:redhat:ansible_tower:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:redhat:cloudforms_management_engine:5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:redhat:openstack:13:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:30:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:31:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:32:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Redhat Ansible

CVE-2014-4657 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): The safe_eval function in Ansible before 1.5.4 does not properly restrict the code subset, which allows remote…
CVE-2014-4678 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): The safe_eval function in Ansible before 1.6.4 does not properly restrict the code subset, which allows remote…
CVE-2014-4967 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Multiple argument injection vulnerabilities in Ansible before 1.6.7 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by…
CVE-2014-4966 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Ansible before 1.6.7 does not prevent inventory data with "{{" and "lookup" substrings, and does not prevent remote…
CVE-2017-7550 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): A flaw was found in the way Ansible (2.3.x before 2.3.3, and 2.4.x before 2.4.1) passed certain parameters to the…
CVE-2014-3498 — High (CVSS 8.8): The user module in ansible before 1.6.6 allows remote authenticated users to execute arbitrary commands.

All CVEs affecting Redhat Ansible →

Other CWE-377 (Insecure Temporary File) vulnerabilities

CVE-2011-4119 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): caml-light <= 0.75 uses mktemp() insecurely, and also does unsafe things in /tmp during make install.
CVE-2012-2666 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): golang/go in 1.0.2 fixes all.bash on shared machines. dotest() in src/pkg/debug/gosym/pclntab_test.go creates a…
CVE-2015-5224 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): The mkostemp function in login-utils in util-linux when used incorrectly allows remote attackers to cause file name…
CVE-2025-14307 — High (CVSS 8.1): An insecure temporary file creation vulnerability exists in the AutoExtract component of Robocode version 1.9.3.6. The…
CVE-2023-43498 — High (CVSS 8.1): In Jenkins 2.423 and earlier, LTS 2.414.1 and earlier, processing file uploads using MultipartFormDataParser creates…
CVE-2025-46369 — High (CVSS 7.8): Dell Alienware Command Center 6.x (AWCC), versions prior to 6.10.15.0, contains an Insecure Temporary File…

Browse all CWE-377 (Insecure Temporary File) vulnerabilities →