What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-7943?

CVE-2020-7943 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 (High). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N. EPSS exploitation probability: 7.9%.

Is there a public PoC exploit available for CVE-2020-7943?

Yes, a public proof-of-concept exploit is available for CVE-2020-7943. Prioritise patching immediately. EPSS: 7.9%.

Puppet CVE-2020-7943

HIGH

Incorrect Default Permissions (CWE-276)

2020-03-11 security@puppet.com

Privilege Escalation Puppet Enterprise Puppet Puppet Server Puppetdb

7.5

CVSS 3.1 · NVD

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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness	CWE CWE-276 OWASP Top 10:2025 A01:2025 - Broken Access Control ASVS 5.0 V13 - Configuration Default permission hardening MITRE ATT&CK 1 technique across 1 tactic: Privilege Escalation The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. Sign in to read
Impact	CVSS score of 7.5 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction not required.
Exploit ScenarioDerived	A remote attacker could access resources due to overly permissive default settings by sending crafted requests to the affected application. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).

No patch listed yet 7.9% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

Puppet Server and PuppetDB provide useful performance and debugging information via their metrics API endpoints. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), 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. Set restrictive default permissions, follow principle of least privilege, review defaults during deployment.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as Incorrect Default Permissions (CWE-276), which allows attackers to access resources due to overly permissive default settings. Puppet Server and PuppetDB provide useful performance and debugging information via their metrics API endpoints. For PuppetDB this may contain things like hostnames. Puppet Server reports resource names and titles for defined types (which may contain sensitive information) as well as function names and class names. Previously, these endpoints were open to the local network. PE 2018.1.13 & 2019.5.0, Puppet Server 6.9.2 & 5.3.12, and PuppetDB 6.9.1 & 5.2.13 disable trapperkeeper-metrics /v1 metrics API and only allows /v2 access on localhost by default. This affects software versions: Puppet Enterprise 2018.1.x stream prior to 2018.1.13 Puppet Enterprise prior to 2019.5.0 Puppet Server prior to 6.9.2 Puppet Server prior to 5.3.12 PuppetDB prior to 6.9.1 PuppetDB prior to 5.2.13 Resolved in: Puppet Enterprise 2018.1.13 Puppet Enterprise 2019.5.0 Puppet Server 6.9.2 Puppet Server 5.3.12 PuppetDB 6.9.1 PuppetDB 5.2.13 Affected products include: Puppet Puppet Enterprise, Puppet Puppet Server, Puppet Puppetdb. Version information: prior to 2018.1.13.

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Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 7.5 HIGH

AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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

None

Availability

None

DescriptionNVD

Puppet Server and PuppetDB provide useful performance and debugging information via their metrics API endpoints. For PuppetDB this may contain things like hostnames. Puppet Server reports resource names and titles for defined types (which may contain sensitive information) as well as function names and class names. Previously, these endpoints were open to the local network. PE 2018.1.13 & 2019.5.0, Puppet Server 6.9.2 & 5.3.12, and PuppetDB 6.9.1 & 5.2.13 disable trapperkeeper-metrics /v1 metrics API and only allows /v2 access on localhost by default. This affects software versions: Puppet Enterprise 2018.1.x stream prior to 2018.1.13 Puppet Enterprise prior to 2019.5.0 Puppet Server prior to 6.9.2 Puppet Server prior to 5.3.12 PuppetDB prior to 6.9.1 PuppetDB prior to 5.2.13 Resolved in: Puppet Enterprise 2018.1.13 Puppet Enterprise 2019.5.0 Puppet Server 6.9.2 Puppet Server 5.3.12 PuppetDB 6.9.1 PuppetDB 5.2.13

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score

7.9%

Top 6% exploitable

Exploit

POC

Public exploit code exists

Data Quality

2 sources

Confidence: Low

NVD

CVE.org

EPSS POC (1)

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 HIGH

CISA KEV No

Public POC Yes

EPSS 7.9%

Patch available No

Active threat No

Deciding rule

HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)

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

Poc

System Exposure· derived

Open

Automatable· derived

Yes

Human Impact· derived

Medium

Priority Score

Low Medium High Critical

KEV: 0

EPSS: +8

CVSS: +38

PoC: +20

Weaponized: 0

Threat intel: 0

Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Privilege Escalation HIGH

Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.