---
title: CVE-2017-7481
description: Ubuntu is an open source software operating system that runs from the
  desktop, to the cloud, to all your internet connected things.
url: https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-7481
---

# CVE-2017-7481

Publication date 19 July 2018

Last updated 25 August 2025

---

Ubuntu priority

**Low**

[Why this priority?](https://ubuntu.com/security/cves/about#priority )

## Cvss 3 Severity Score

**9.8 · Critical**

[Score breakdown](https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-7481#impact-score)

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## Description

Ansible before versions 2.3.1.0 and 2.4.0.0 fails to properly mark
lookup-plugin results as unsafe. If an attacker could control the results
of lookup() calls, they could inject Unicode strings to be parsed by the
jinja2 templating system, resulting in code execution. By default, the
jinja2 templating language is now marked as 'unsafe' and is not evaluated.

[Read the notes from the security team](https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-7481#notes)

## Status

Show unmaintained releases

| Package | Ubuntu Release | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ansible | 24.10 oracular | Not affected |
| 24.04 LTS noble | Not affected |
| 23.10 mantic | Not affected |
| 23.04 lunar | Not affected |
| 22.10 kinetic | Not affected |
| 22.04 LTS jammy | Not affected |
| 21.10 impish | Not affected |
| 21.04 hirsute | Not affected |
| 20.10 groovy | Not affected |
| 20.04 LTS focal | Not affected |
| 19.10 eoan | Not affected |
| 19.04 disco | Not affected |
| 18.10 cosmic | Not affected |
| 18.04 LTS bionic | Not affected |
| 17.10 artful | Ignored end of life |
| 17.04 zesty | Ignored end of life |
| 16.10 yakkety | Ignored end of life |
| 16.04 LTS xenial | Fixed 2.0.0.2-2ubuntu1.3 |
| 14.04 LTS trusty | Not affected |

---

* [How can I get the fixes?](https://ubuntu.com/security/cves/about#security)
* [What do statuses mean?](https://ubuntu.com/security/cves/about#statuses)
* [Patch details](https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2017-7481#patch-details)

## Notes

---

### [john-breton](https://launchpad.net/~john-breton)

Vulnerable code introduced in version 2.0

### Patch details

For informational purposes only. We recommend not to cherry-pick updates. [How can I get the fixes?](https://ubuntu.com/security/cves/about#security)

| Package | Patch details |
| --- | --- |
| ansible | * Upstream:   [ed56f51](https://github.com/ansible/ansible/commit/ed56f51f185a1ffd7ea57130d260098686fcc7c2) |

## Severity score breakdown

CVSS version:
CVSS v3.0

**Base score**

9.8 · Critical

* Base metrics

  | Parameter | Value |
  | --- | --- |
  | Attack vector | Network |
  | Attack complexity | Low |
  | Privileges required | None |
  | User interaction | None |
  | Scope | Unchanged |
  | Confidentiality impact | High |
  | Integrity impact | High |
  | Availability impact | High |
* Scores

  | Parameter | Value |
  | --- | --- |
  | Base score | 9.8 · Critical |
  | Exploitability score | - |
  | Impact score | - |

**Vector:** CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

## References

* [MITRE](https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2017-7481)
* [NVD](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-7481)
* [Launchpad](https://launchpad.net/bugs/cve/CVE-2017-7481)
* [Debian](https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2017-7481)

### Related Ubuntu Security Notices (USN)

+ [USN-4072-1](https://usn.ubuntu.com/USN-4072-1)
+ Ansible vulnerabilities
+ 24 July 2019

### Other references

* <https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-7481>