CVE-2018-6516
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 · uneditedOn Windows only, with a specifically crafted configuration file an attacker could get Puppet PE client tools (aka pe-client-tools) 16.4.x prior to 16.4.6, 17.3.x prior to 17.3.6, and 18.1.x prior to 18.1.2 to load arbitrary code with privilege escalation.
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 confidenceOn Windows systems, Puppet PE client tools (pe-client-tools) versions prior to 16.4.6, 17.3.6, and 18.1.2 can be induced to load arbitrary code via a specifically crafted configuration file, resulting in privilege escalation.
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>= 16.4.0, < 16.4.6>= 17.3.0, < 17.3.6>= 18.1.0, < 18.1.2CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify Puppet PE client tools are installedOn the Windows system, check for the presence of pe-client-tools by looking in Program Files or running 'puppet --version' in Command Prompt or PowerShellAffected if pe-client-tools are present on the system
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Determine installed pe-client-tools versionRun 'puppet --version' or check the installed programs list in Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features to find the pe-client-tools version numberAffected if the version returned matches one of the vulnerable ranges
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Compare against vulnerable version 16.4.xIf the installed version is 16.4.0 through 16.4.5, the system is vulnerable; versions 16.4.6 and later are fixedAffected if installed version is >= 16.4.0 and < 16.4.6
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Compare against vulnerable version 17.3.xIf the installed version is 17.3.0 through 17.3.5, the system is vulnerable; versions 17.3.6 and later are fixedAffected if installed version is >= 17.3.0 and < 17.3.6
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Compare against vulnerable version 18.1.xIf the installed version is 18.1.0 or 18.1.1, the system is vulnerable; version 18.1.2 and later are fixedAffected if installed version is >= 18.1.0 and < 18.1.2
The system is affected if pe-client-tools is installed and the version falls within 16.4.0-16.4.5, 17.3.0-17.3.5, or 18.1.0-18.1.1.
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 data16.4.617.3.618.1.2
Upgrade Puppet PE client tools to version 16.4.6, 17.3.6, 18.1.2 or later on all affected Windows systems.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-6516 — 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-2018-6516 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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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.
- 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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