CVE-2020-7943
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 · uneditedPuppet Server and PuppetDB provide useful performance and debugging information via their metrics API endpoints. For PuppetDB this may contain things like hostnames. Puppet Server reports resource names and titles for defined types (which may contain sensitive information) as well as function names and class names. Previously, these endpoints were open to the local network. PE 2018.1.13 & 2019.5.0, Puppet Server 6.9.2 & 5.3.12, and PuppetDB 6.9.1 & 5.2.13 disable trapperkeeper-metrics /v1 metrics API and only allows /v2 access on localhost by default. This affects software versions: Puppet Enterprise 2018.1.x stream prior to 2018.1.13 Puppet Enterprise prior to 2019.5.0 Puppet Server prior to 6.9.2 Puppet Server prior to 5.3.12 PuppetDB prior to 6.9.1 PuppetDB prior to 5.2.13 Resolved in: Puppet Enterprise 2018.1.13 Puppet Enterprise 2019.5.0 Puppet Server 6.9.2 Puppet Server 5.3.12 PuppetDB 6.9.1 PuppetDB 5.2.13
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 metrics API endpoints in Puppet Server and PuppetDB were accessible to the local network without proper access controls. PuppetDB exposed hostnames while Puppet Server exposed resource names/titles (potentially containing sensitive data), function names, and class names. The fixed versions disable the /v1 metrics API entirely and restrict /v2 access to localhost only.
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>= 2018.1.0, < 2018.1.15>= 2019.0, < 2019.7.0< 5.3.13>= 6.0.0, < 6.11.1< 5.2.15>= 6.0.0, < 6.10.1CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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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Identify Puppet Server versionRun `puppetserver --version` or check the installed RPM/deb package version with `rpm -q puppetserver` or `dpkg -l puppetserver`Affected if Version is < 5.3.13, or >= 6.0.0 and < 6.11.1
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Identify PuppetDB versionRun `puppetdb --version` or check the installed package with `rpm -q puppetdb` or `dpkg -l puppetdb`Affected if Version is < 5.2.15, or >= 6.0.0 and < 6.10.1
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Identify Puppet Enterprise versionCheck the version file at `/opt/puppetlabs/pe.version` or run `puppet --version` on a PE master nodeAffected if Version is >= 2018.1.0 and < 2018.1.15, or >= 2019.0 and < 2019.7.0
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Test /v1 metrics API exposureMake an HTTP request to `http://<server>:8080/v1/metrics` or `http://<server>:8080/metrics` from a non-localhost IP addressAffected if The endpoint returns a valid JSON response containing metrics data (v1 is disabled in fixed versions)
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Test /v2 metrics API access from remote hostMake an HTTP request to `http://<server>:8080/v2/metrics` from a non-localhost IP addressAffected if The endpoint returns metrics data (in fixed versions this should return 403 or only respond to localhost)
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Inspect metrics configuration in Puppet ServerCheck `/etc/puppetserver/conf.d/webserver.conf` and look for any jetty host bindings on port 8080 or the metrics portAffected if The metrics endpoints are bound to `0.0.0.0` or an external interface rather than `127.0.0.1` only
You are affected if your installed version falls within the affected ranges AND the metrics API endpoints are accessible from non-localhost network addresses.
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 data5.2.155.3.136.10.1
Upgrade to Puppet Enterprise 2018.1.13/2019.5.0, Puppet Server 6.9.2/5.3.12, or PuppetDB 6.9.1/5.2.13 to enforce localhost-only access to metrics endpoints.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-7943 — 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-2020-7943 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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