What is CVE-2020-10685?

CVE-2020-10685 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in ansible (pip), affecting versions >= 2.7.0a1, < 2.7.17. It is fixed in 2.7.17, 2.8.11, 2.9.7.

How severe is CVE-2020-10685?

CVE-2020-10685 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.

Which versions of ansible are affected by CVE-2020-10685?

ansible (pip) versions >= 2.7.0a1, < 2.7.17 is affected.

Is there a fix for CVE-2020-10685?

Yes. CVE-2020-10685 is fixed in 2.7.17, 2.8.11, 2.9.7. Upgrade to this version or later.

Is CVE-2020-10685 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2020-10685 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk.

What actually determines whether CVE-2020-10685 is exploitable, and how bad it is?

Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.

CVE-2020-10685 in ansible

Q: How severe is CVE-2020-10685?

CVE-2020-10685 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.

Q: Which versions of ansible are affected by CVE-2020-10685?

ansible (pip) versions >= 2.7.0a1, < 2.7.17 is affected.

Q: Is there a fix for CVE-2020-10685?

Yes. CVE-2020-10685 is fixed in 2.7.17, 2.8.11, 2.9.7. Upgrade to this version or later.

Q: Is CVE-2020-10685 exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether CVE-2020-10685 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk.

Q: What actually determines whether CVE-2020-10685 is exploitable, and how bad it is?

Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.

Q: How do I fix CVE-2020-10685?

Upgrade: ansible to 2.7.17 or later, ansible to 2.8.11 or later, ansible to 2.9.7 or later.

Summary

Exposure of Resource to Wrong Sphere and Insecure Temporary File in Ansible

A flaw was found in Ansible Engine affecting Ansible Engine versions 2.7.x before 2.7.17 and 2.8.x before 2.8.11 and 2.9.x before 2.9.7 as well as Ansible Tower before and including versions 3.4.5 and 3.5.5 and 3.6.3 when using modules which decrypts vault files such as assemble, script, unarchive, win_copy, aws_s3 or copy modules. The temporary directory is created in /tmp leaves the s ts unencrypted. On Operating Systems which /tmp is not a tmpfs but part of the root partition, the directory is only cleared on boot and the decryp emains when the host is switched off. The system will be vulnerable when the system is not running. So decrypted data must be cleared as soon as possible and the data which normally is encrypted ble.

Impact

CVE-2020-10685 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (Medium). The vector is requires local access, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (2.7.17, 2.8.11, 2.9.7); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Affected versions

ansible (>= 2.7.0a1, < 2.7.17) ansible (>= 2.8.0a1, < 2.8.11) ansible (>= 2.9.0a1, < 2.9.7)

Security releases

ansible → 2.7.17 (pip) ansible → 2.8.11 (pip) ansible → 2.9.7 (pip)

Kodem intelligence

Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.

Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.

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Remediation advice

Upgrade the following packages to resolve this vulnerability:

ansible to 2.7.17 or later; ansible to 2.8.11 or later; ansible to 2.9.7 or later

Kodem Kai can prioritize this vulnerability in your dependency tree and generate a fix recommendation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-10685? CVE-2020-10685 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in ansible (pip), affecting versions >= 2.7.0a1, < 2.7.17. It is fixed in 2.7.17, 2.8.11, 2.9.7.
How severe is CVE-2020-10685? CVE-2020-10685 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
Which versions of ansible are affected by CVE-2020-10685? ansible (pip) versions >= 2.7.0a1, < 2.7.17 is affected.
Is there a fix for CVE-2020-10685? Yes. CVE-2020-10685 is fixed in 2.7.17, 2.8.11, 2.9.7. Upgrade to this version or later.
Is CVE-2020-10685 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2020-10685 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
What actually determines whether CVE-2020-10685 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
How do I fix CVE-2020-10685?
- Upgrade ansible to 2.7.17 or later
- Upgrade ansible to 2.8.11 or later
- Upgrade ansible to 2.9.7 or later

Other vulnerabilities in ansible

CVE-IDSeverityPackage summary

CVE-2025-14010Mediumansible: Ansible Community General Collection is vulnerable to exposure of sensitive information CVE-2020-25635Mediumansible: Ansible does not collect garbage after playbook run CVE-2023-5115Mediumansible: Ansible symlink attack vulnerability CVE-2022-3697Highansible: Ansible leaks password to logs CVE-2021-20228Highansible: Ansible Exposes Sensitive Information