Automation-controller: automation-controller: email notification backend allows ssrf via user-controlled smtp host/port (internal port-scan oracle, smtp password exfil)
Published Sep 23, 2026 · Updated Sep 23, 2026
A server-side request forgery flaw was found in the Ansible Automation Platform automation-controller email notification backend. The email backend passes the user-supplied SMTP host and port from a notification template directly to the SMTP client without validating that the target is not an internal, loopback, link-local, or reserved address. An authenticated user with organization notification-admin permission can create or modify an email notification template pointing at an arbitrary internal address, trigger a test, and have the controller task process open a raw TCP connection to that address. The resulting connection error is reflected back through the notification record, providing a three-state internal port-scan oracle (open, closed, filtered) over the control-plane's cluster network, including the in-cluster Kubernetes API. When a shared organization template holds a stored SMTP password, redirecting the host can also cause that credential to be transmitted to an attacker-controlled server.
Summary
What happened
A server-side request forgery flaw was found in the Ansible Automation Platform automation-controller email notification backend. The email backend passes the user-supplied SMTP host and port from a notification template directly to the SMTP client without validating that the target is not an internal, loopback, link-local, or reserved address. An authenticated user with organization notification-admin permission can create or modify an email notification template pointing at an arbitrary internal address, trigger a test, and have the controller task process open a raw TCP connection to that address. The resulting connection error is reflected back through the notification record, providing a three-state internal port-scan oracle (open, closed, filtered) over the control-plane's cluster network, including the in-cluster Kubernetes API. When a shared organization template holds a stored SMTP password, redirecting the host can also cause that credential to be transmitted to an attacker-controlled server.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-84721
- Published
- Sep 23, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 23, 2026
- Vendor
- 389 Directory Server
- Product
- Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- Unavailable
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 23, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 23, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
Weakness, pattern, technique
No sourced classifications are available.
Public exploit references
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Technologies
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