dbcve.org
OpenshiftApplication · Redhat

CVE-2014-0175

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-12-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
mcollective has a default password set at install

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 · moderate confidence

mcollective (Marionette Collective), a server orchestration and configuration management framework, ships with a default password configured during installation. If administrators do not change this default credential, remote attackers can easily authenticate to the mcollective service and execute arbitrary commands on managed nodes.

MitigationImmediately change the default password to a strong, unique password in the mcollective configuration files (typically server.cfg or client.cfg) and restart the mcollective services.

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
OpenshiftApplication
Affected:= 1.0= 2.1
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 8.0= 10.0
Marionette CollectiveApplication
Affected:all versions

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
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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. Verify mcollective is installed
    Check if the mcollective package is installed on the system. On Debian-based systems: dpkg -l | grep mcollective. On RPM-based systems: rpm -qa | grep mcollective. Also check for running mcollective processes: ps aux | grep mcollective
    Affected if mcollective is installed and running without the default password having been changed
  2. Locate mcollective configuration file
    Find the mcollective configuration file, typically named server.cfg or client.cfg, usually located in /etc/mcollective/, /etc/puppetlabs/mcollective/, or the mcollective conf directory. Check common paths: ls /etc/mcollective/server.cfg /etc/puppetlabs/mcollective/server.cfg
    Affected if The configuration file exists and contains security settings
  3. Examine security plugin password setting
    In the configuration file, look for the security plugin configuration section. Search for lines containing 'password', 'securityprovider', or 'plugin.security' settings. The default password is typically configured under the security plugin section.
    Affected if A password is configured but still set to the default installation credential rather than a unique strong password
  4. Verify password has been changed from default
    Compare the configured password value in the security plugin section against the default password that ships with mcollective installation. If the password matches the default value, or if no password has been explicitly set by the administrator, the system is vulnerable.
    Affected if The password in the configuration file matches the default password or remains unchanged from the mcollective installation default

A user is affected if mcollective is installed and the configured security password has not been changed from the default installation credential.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Immediately change the default password to a strong, unique password in the mcollective configuration files (typically server.cfg or client.cfg) and restart the mcollective services.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence
  1. Locate the mcollective configuration file (typically /etc/mcollective/server.cfg or similar)
  2. Change the default password by setting the 'plugin.mcollective.securityprovider.simple' or 'plugin.psk' parameter to a strong, unique password
  3. Ensure the client configuration also uses the same password in the 'plugin.psk' setting
  4. Restart the mcollective service after making changes: systemctl restart mcollective or service mcollective restart
  5. Verify the service is running with the new credentials

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Openshift Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
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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-2014-0175 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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