CVE-2017-2296
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 · uneditedIn Puppet Enterprise 2017.1.x and 2017.2.1, using specially formatted strings with certain formatting characters as Classifier node group names or RBAC role display names causes errors, effectively causing a DOS to the service. This was resolved in Puppet Enterprise 2017.2.2.
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 confidenceA Denial of Service vulnerability in Puppet Enterprise 2017.1.x and 2017.2.1 where specially formatted strings containing certain formatting characters, when used as Classifier node group names or RBAC role display names, trigger errors that crash the service.
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= 2017.1.0= 2017.1.1= 2017.2.1CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Puppet Enterprise versionRun 'puppet --version' from the command line, or log into the PE console and navigate to the About page to confirm the installed Puppet Enterprise versionAffected if The installed version is exactly 2017.1.0, 2017.1.1, or 2017.2.1
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Review Classifier node group namesAccess the PE console Classification page (Nodes > Node Groups) or query the classifier API endpoint to list all node group names. Inspect each name for unusual or specially formatted strings containing formatting charactersAffected if Any node group name contains specially formatted strings with formatting characters
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Review RBAC role display namesAccess the PE console RBAC page (Access Control > Roles) or query the RBAC API endpoint to list all role display names. Inspect each display name for unusual or specially formatted strings containing formatting charactersAffected if Any RBAC role display name contains specially formatted strings with formatting characters
You are affected if Puppet Enterprise version is 2017.1.0, 2017.1.1, or 2017.2.1 AND node group names or RBAC role display names contain the specially formatted strings that trigger the crash.
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 2017.2.2 or later to resolve this vulnerability. As a temporary mitigation, avoid using specially formatted strings with unusual formatting characters in node group names or RBAC role display names.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-2296 — 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-2017-2296 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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