Advisory · CVE-2026-84719
Critical workflow copy flaw bypasses AAP instance group authorization
Copying a WorkflowJobTemplate in automation controller skips permission checks on instance groups, letting a workflow admin launch attacker-influenced automation in the control-plane execution context.
- Vendor
- Red Hat
- Product
- Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2
- Identifier / CWE
- CVE-2026-84719
CWE-862 - Action timing
- Immediate
Explain it like I’m five
Copying a workflow is supposed to re-check that you are allowed to use everything the copy contains, but the checker only looks at some of the ingredients. A sneak can copy a workflow into the most powerful kitchen in the building and cook whatever they want there.
- 01Copy request
A user with organization workflow-admin permission copies an existing WorkflowJobTemplate.
- 02Partial sanitizer
The deep-copy permission sanitizer validates only inventory, unified job template, and credentials of each cloned node, skipping instance_groups, execution_environment, and labels.
- 03Ownership
The copier becomes administrator of the new workflow, retaining the original's pinned instance groups.
- 04Control-plane execution
Jobs are launched pinned to instance groups the user is not authorized for, including the control-plane instance group, running attacker-influenced automation in the control-plane context.
What happened
A flaw in the automation controller’s WorkflowJobTemplate copy logic bypasses instance group authorization. When a workflow is copied, the deep-copy permission sanitizer validates only the inventory, unified job template, and credentials of each cloned node and fails to check the instance groups, execution environment, and labels preserved from the original. A user with organization workflow-admin permission but no role on the referenced instance groups can copy a workflow, become its administrator, and launch jobs pinned to those groups, including the control-plane instance group.
Red Hat reports Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 as affected and rates the issue critical at CVSS 9.9. Red Hat has not stated a fixed version in the data available, so remediation should follow the vendor bulletin.
What to do
- Follow the Red Hat security bulletin for patches or mitigations and apply them.
- Audit recently copied WorkflowJobTemplates and compare their instance group pins against the copier’s authorized roles.
- Review job history for workflow jobs that ran on instance groups outside the launching user’s normal scope.
- Restrict workflow-admin grants to users who genuinely need them until patched.
- Investigate any control-plane job activity that cannot be tied to an authorized administrator.
Management note
At 9.9 this is the highest-scored issue in this sweep, and it converts a mid-tier delegated role into control-plane execution. The copy feature is the attack path, so copied workflows are the first place to look for misuse.