High [CVE-2026-44190] Ansible Lightspeed Visual Studio Code extension: Arbitrary code execution via command injection in activation script setting
This high-severity Red Hat Linux advisory covers CVE-2026-44190.
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Summary
A flaw was found in the Ansible Lightspeed Visual Studio Code extension. This Command Injection vulnerability (CWE-78) allows a remote attacker to execute unauthorized commands on a user's system.
The issue occurs because the `ansible.python.activationScript` setting, intended for a virtual environment activation script, does not properly validate user input as a file path.
If a user opens or executes a specially crafted project, an attacker could exploit this to gain complete control over the user's system with the privileges of the Visual Studio Code application.
It enables arbitrary code execution on a user's system with VS Code process privileges if a malicious project's `.vscode/settings.json` is opened or a playbook executed without prior validation. This could lead to a complete system compromise.
Note the VS Code extension is distributed via VS Code Marketplace, not shipped in AAP RPMs or containers. Red Hat severity: Important — CVSS 7.8 (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).
Weakness: CWE-78. Red Hat lists Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform 2 as not affected.
Affected versions
No affected-version range was extracted from the source record. The vendor advisory is authoritative — check it before change work.
Official advisory · high-confidence parse· fetched 16 days ago·verify at source
Fixed versions
No fixed release is recorded yet. That does not prove no patch exists — confirm against the vendor advisory.
Official advisory · high-confidence parse· fetched 16 days ago·verify at source
Mitigation checklist
- To mitigate this issue, configure the `ansible.python.activationScript` setting to "User" scope only within Visual Studio Code settings. This prevents untrusted project configurations from defining this setting in `.vscode/settings.json`. Users should always review the contents of `.vscode/settings.json` before opening or executing playbooks from untrusted sources. This action does not require a service restart or reload.
Official advisory · high-confidence parse· fetched 16 days ago·verify at source
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