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Puppet Enterprise CVE-2016-2786

CRITICAL
Improper Input Validation (CWE-20)
2016-06-10 cve@mitre.org
Information Disclosure Puppet Enterprise Puppet Puppet Agent
9.8
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
CWE-20
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V2 - Validation and Business Logic Input validation, allowlisting
Impact

CVSS score of 9.8 (CRITICAL). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction not required. EPSS exploitation probability: 0.71%.
Exploit ScenarioDerived

This vulnerability can be exploited remotely over the network. Successful exploitation could compromise the critical-severity affected system.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: CRITICAL severity.
No patch listed yet 0.7% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

The pxp-agent component in Puppet Enterprise 2015.3.x before 2015.3.3 and Puppet Agent 1.3.x before 1.3.6 does not properly validate server certificates, which might allow remote attackers to spoof. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Apply vendor patches when available. Implement network segmentation and monitoring as interim mitigations.

Affects your stack

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Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-20. The pxp-agent component in Puppet Enterprise 2015.3.x before 2015.3.3 and Puppet Agent 1.3.x before 1.3.6 does not properly validate server certificates, which might allow remote attackers to spoof brokers and execute arbitrary commands via a crafted certificate. Affected products include: Puppet Puppet Agent, Puppet Puppet Enterprise. Version information: before 2015.3.3.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 9.8 CRITICAL
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

DescriptionCVE.org

The pxp-agent component in Puppet Enterprise 2015.3.x before 2015.3.3 and Puppet Agent 1.3.x before 1.3.6 does not properly validate server certificates, which might allow remote attackers to spoof brokers and execute arbitrary commands via a crafted certificate.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.7%
Top 28% exploitable
Data Quality
3 sources
Confidence: Low
NVD CVE.org EPSS

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity CRITICAL
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.7%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
CRITICAL severity
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
Yes
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

50
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +1
CVSS: +49
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Information Disclosure MEDIUM

Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.

Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org

cpe:2.3:a:puppet:puppet_agent:1.3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:puppet:puppet_agent:1.3.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:puppet:puppet_agent:1.3.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:puppet:puppet_agent:1.3.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:puppet:puppet_agent:1.3.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:puppet:puppet_enterprise:2015.3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:puppet:puppet_enterprise:2015.3.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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References

Advisories & patches
ADVISORY https://puppet.com/security/cve/CVE-2016-2786 REF https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201606-02

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