CVE-2013-4966
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 · uneditedThe master external node classification script in Puppet Enterprise before 3.2.0 does not verify the identity of consoles, which allows remote attackers to create arbitrary classifications on the master by spoofing a console.
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 confidenceThe master external node classification (ENC) script in Puppet Enterprise before 3.2.0 lacks console identity verification, allowing remote attackers to spoof the console and inject arbitrary node classifications into the Puppet master by sending malicious classification data.
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<= 3.1.1= 3.0.0= 3.0.1= 3.1.0CVSS 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
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Puppet Enterprise versionRun `puppet --version` or examine the installed package (e.g., `rpm -q puppet-enterprise` or `dpkg -l puppet-enterprise`)Affected if Version is 3.0.0, 3.0.1, 3.1.0, or 3.1.1 (any version <= 3.1.1 in the 3.x line)
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Verify ENC is configuredInspect the puppet.conf file (located at /etc/puppetlabs/puppet/puppet.conf or /etc/puppet/puppet.conf) and look for the `node_terminus` setting under the `[master]` sectionAffected if node_terminus is set to a value other than 'plain' (such as 'exec', 'console', or 'classifier')
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Confirm ENC uses console-based classificationCheck if `node_terminus` is set to 'console' or if the ENC script path (node_terminus = exec with external node script configured) points to console-related classificationAffected if The ENC is configured to receive classification data from the Puppet console without additional identity verification
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Inspect ENC script for identity validationLocate the ENC script (check `external_node` setting in puppet.conf) and examine its source code for console identity verification (e.g., certificate validation, shared-secret checks, or API authentication)Affected if The ENC script lacks any mechanism to verify the console's identity before accepting classification data
You are affected if Puppet Enterprise version is 3.0.0 through 3.1.1 AND the external node classification (ENC) feature is configured to receive data from the console without identity verification.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUpgrade Puppet Enterprise to version 3.2.0 or later which includes console identity verification. If immediate upgrade is not possible, implement certificate-based or shared-secret authentication in the ENC script to validate console identity before accepting classification data.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-4966 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2013-4966 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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