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Full vulnerability report · 2024
CVE-2024-53979High confidence

Ansible collection "ibm.ibm_zhmc" has passwords in clear text in log file and in output of some modules when specified as input

zhmcclient · zhmc-ansible-modules

Official source article: GitHub GHSA-MW6C-F428-JX4F ↗. Check the applicable product and release in the original source.

8.3HighCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Within 7 days

High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.

Fix not verified
R
Operational reassessment

Published severity in operational context

Open reassessment dashboard →
Published severityHighOperational priority:Medium, lowered one band.downgradedsince 4 Dec 2024

Evidence used

  • No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
  • Exploitation requires an existing local or physical foothold with privileges.
  • EPSS is 0.14% for the current model date.

Compensating controls

  • Restrict local access and enforce least privilege on affected hosts.
  • Monitor vendor guidance and exploitation sources for a material change.

Verification

  1. Confirm that the asset runs zhmcclient zhmc-ansible-modules and falls inside the recorded affected range.
  2. Recheck the vendor advisory before scheduling a change because no verified fixed version is currently retained.
  3. Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
  4. Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Mitigation target: As exposure requiresRemediation target: Within 365 days

This automated reassessment organises public evidence. It does not know asset exposure, business impact or control effectiveness and does not replace CVSS or a human risk decision.

Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Choose official national sources for this report. Each advisory shows its original language. Your selection is remembered on this device and included in shared links.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2024-52225

No EUVD known-exploited evidence

ENISA has published the identifier mapping but no EUVD description has been stored yet.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Not present in the current ENISA EUVD known-exploited dataset. This is not proof of no exploitation.
ENISA score
Not supplied in the stored EUVD record
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionWithin 7 days

High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.

Fix not verified
01

What, why and how

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

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.

Why

The product stores sensitive information in cleartext within a resource that might be accessible to another control sphere.

How

An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with elevated privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

What

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.

Why

The product stores sensitive information in cleartext within a resource that might be accessible to another control sphere.

How

An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with elevated privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

02

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
No confirmed evidence

No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.

Public PoC / exploit material
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
None recorded

No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.

Likely attack path
local access → Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
Attack surface
Local
Privileges required
High: elevated access is required
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary
Changed: exploitation can affect a different security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-312 ↗

CWE-312: Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information. The product stores sensitive information in cleartext within a resource that might be accessible to another control sphere.

CVSS vector
?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.

AVLocalAttack vector: The attacker needs local access to the vulnerable system.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRHighPrivileges required: The attacker needs elevated or administrative privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SChangedScope: The attack can affect a component governed by a different security authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
The issue can support a local privilege or sandbox boundary transition; normal system utilities may then be available in the gained context.
CWE-312
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

Cyber Security Agency of Singapore · English · CSA-SB-20241204Security Bulletin 04 Dec 2024

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore included this CVE in its official Security Bulletin 04 Dec 2024, published on 4 December 2024. Open the linked bulletin for the product, severity and reference information published in that issue.

Official advisory ↗
03

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status
?Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Fix not verified
Affected
zhmc-ansible-modules: < 1.9.3
Fixed
No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
Action
No verified patch reference is present in the current structured sources. Check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Workaround
No verified workaround is recorded. Limit untrusted access and use least privilege until authoritative guidance is available.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 29 Nov 2024 · Last source change 4 Dec 2024, 17:19 UTC · CWE-312 · Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceCNA
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2024-52225
Product sourceCNA
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD not scheduled

Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates ↗

No material field changes have been recorded since change tracking began. Routine source refreshes and cosmetic edits are intentionally excluded.

Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
CVE published
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2024-52225↗CVE authority or vendor reference · GitHub GHSA-MW6C-F428-JX4F↗Official CVE record (CNA and ADP data)↗NVD record↗
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
CVE
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS
Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE
Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA
CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD
National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT
A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC
Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF
Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL
Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2024-53979 · cve.blacktree.nl