CVE-2015-7330 in Puppet
Summary
by MITRE
Puppet Enterprise 2015.3 before 2015.3.1 allows remote attackers to bypass a host whitelist protection mechanism by leveraging the Puppet communications protocol.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/13/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-7330 affects Puppet Enterprise 2015.3 before 2015.3.1 and represents a critical security flaw in the host whitelist protection mechanism. This issue resides within the Puppet communications protocol implementation where remote attackers can exploit a design weakness to bypass intended access controls. The vulnerability fundamentally undermines the security model that Puppet Enterprise employs to protect its infrastructure by allowing unauthorized hosts to communicate with the Puppet master server despite being excluded from the configured whitelist.
The technical flaw stems from insufficient validation within the Puppet communications protocol that processes incoming requests from managed nodes. Specifically, the vulnerability occurs during the authentication and authorization phases where the system fails to properly verify that incoming connections originate from hosts explicitly authorized in the whitelist configuration. This weakness allows attackers to craft malicious communications that appear to originate from legitimate whitelisted hosts while actually being generated by unauthorized parties. The flaw operates at the protocol level rather than at the application layer, making it particularly dangerous as it bypasses traditional network security controls that might be in place.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe for organizations relying on Puppet Enterprise for configuration management. Attackers who successfully exploit this vulnerability can gain unauthorized access to the Puppet master server and potentially escalate their privileges to execute arbitrary code or modify configuration data. This compromise can lead to widespread configuration changes across the entire infrastructure, as the Puppet master controls the configuration state of all managed nodes. The attack vector is particularly concerning because it does not require authentication credentials or physical access to the network, making it accessible to remote threat actors.
Organizations should immediately implement the patch released by Puppet Labs for version 2015.3.1 which addresses the whitelist bypass mechanism. The mitigation strategy involves updating to the patched version and conducting thorough security reviews of existing whitelist configurations. Additionally, network segmentation should be implemented to limit direct communication between Puppet masters and managed nodes, while implementing additional monitoring controls to detect anomalous communication patterns. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-284 Access Control Issues and maps to ATT&CK technique T1078 Valid Accounts, as it allows unauthorized access through legitimate communication channels. Security teams should also consider implementing network-based intrusion detection systems that can monitor for suspicious Puppet protocol communications that might indicate exploitation attempts.