dbcve.org
FedoraOperating system · Fedoraproject

CVE-2012-1988

MEDIUM · 6.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-05-29
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.5.1 / 2.6.15 or later.
See remediation →
66/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Puppet 2.6.x before 2.6.15 and 2.7.x before 2.7.13, and Puppet Enterprise (PE) Users 1.0, 1.1, 1.2.x, 2.0.x, and 2.5.x before 2.5.1 allows remote authenticated users with agent SSL keys and file-creation permissions on the puppet master to execute arbitrary commands by creating a file whose full pathname contains shell metacharacters, then performing a filebucket request.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

In Puppet versions 2.6.x before 2.6.15 and 2.7.x before 2.7.13 (and PE versions before 2.5.1), an authenticated user possessing valid agent SSL keys and file-creation permissions on the puppet master can inject shell metacharacters into file paths during filebucket operations, achieving arbitrary command execution.

MitigationUpgrade Puppet to version 2.6.15+, 2.7.13+, or PE 2.5.1+ to obtain the patch. Alternatively, restrict file-creation permissions and enforce strict input validation on filebucket requests.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 15= 16= 17
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 6.0= 7.0
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 10.04= 11.04= 11.10
PuppetApplication
Affected:>= 2.6.0, < 2.6.15>= 2.7.0, < 2.7.13
Puppet EnterpriseApplication
Affected:>= 1.2.0, < 2.5.1= 1.0= 1.1

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
M
Authentication
Single
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:M/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed Puppet version
    Run 'puppet --version' on the puppet master or 'facter puppetversion' to determine the exact version running.
    Affected if The version falls within 2.6.0 to 2.6.14, 2.7.0 to 2.7.12, or Puppet Enterprise below 2.5.1.
  2. Verify filebucket service is accessible
    Check if the filebucket service is enabled and reachable. Inspect /etc/puppet/filebucketd.conf or equivalent configuration for the filebucket service definition.
    Affected if Filebucket is enabled and accepts requests from authenticated agents.
  3. Confirm file-creation permissions exist
    Review the puppet master's auth.conf or RBAC settings to determine which authenticated agents possess file creation permissions on the master.
    Affected if Any authenticated agent with valid SSL keys has file-creation permissions on the puppet master.
  4. Check for existing SSL key infrastructure
    Examine /var/lib/puppet/ssl/ on the puppet master to verify SSL certificates are present for agent nodes.
    Affected if Agent SSL keys exist and are valid, allowing authenticated access to filebucket.

A user is affected if running a vulnerable Puppet version (2.6.x < 2.6.15, 2.7.x < 2.7.13, or PE < 2.5.1) with filebucket enabled and authenticated agents having file-creation permissions on the master.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2.5.1 / 2.6.15 / 2.7.13 or later
Fixed in 2.5.12.6.152.7.13
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Puppet to version 2.6.15+, 2.7.13+, or PE 2.5.1+ to obtain the patch. Alternatively, restrict file-creation permissions and enforce strict input validation on filebucket requests.

Fix this in Fedora Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-1988 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2012-1988 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data