CVE-2018-6510 in Puppet Enterprise
Summary
by MITRE
A cross-site scripting vulnerability in Puppet Enterprise Console of Puppet Enterprise allows a user to inject scripts into the Puppet Enterprise Console when using the Orchestrator. Affected releases are Puppet Puppet Enterprise: 2017.3.x versions prior to 2017.3.6.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/08/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-6510 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the Puppet Enterprise Console component, specifically affecting the Orchestrator functionality. This weakness resides in the web interface handling of user input, creating an avenue for malicious actors to execute arbitrary scripts within the context of other users' sessions. The vulnerability impacts organizations using Puppet Enterprise 2017.3.x versions before the 2017.3.6 release, where the Orchestrator module fails to properly sanitize user-supplied data before rendering it in the console interface. The flaw stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding mechanisms that should have prevented malicious script execution within the web application environment.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability allows an attacker to inject malicious JavaScript code through the Orchestrator interface, which then executes in the browser of authenticated users who access the affected console. This occurs because the application does not properly escape or filter user input before displaying it in the web interface, creating a classic XSS attack vector. The vulnerability falls under CWE-79 - Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation, which is a fundamental web application security weakness that has been consistently identified as one of the top security risks in web applications. The attack typically requires a user to be authenticated to the Puppet Enterprise Console and to view a page containing the maliciously injected content, making it particularly dangerous in environments where administrators have elevated privileges.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script injection, as it can potentially enable attackers to escalate privileges, steal session cookies, perform unauthorized actions within the Puppet Enterprise environment, or access sensitive configuration data. Given that Puppet Enterprise is commonly used for infrastructure automation and configuration management, successful exploitation could allow attackers to manipulate deployment workflows, access system credentials, or compromise the entire infrastructure management pipeline. The vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 - Command and Scripting Interpreter: JavaScript, demonstrating how attackers can leverage browser-based execution to achieve their objectives. Organizations relying on Puppet Enterprise for managing their infrastructure may find their security posture significantly weakened if this vulnerability is exploited, as it provides a potential entry point for broader attacks against their automated deployment systems.
Organizations should immediately upgrade to Puppet Enterprise 2017.3.6 or later versions to remediate this vulnerability, as this release includes the necessary input sanitization and output encoding fixes. Additionally, implementing proper input validation at multiple layers of the application, including the web interface and backend processing components, can provide defense-in-depth protection. Network segmentation and monitoring of the Puppet Enterprise console traffic can help detect suspicious activity, while regular security assessments of web applications should include thorough testing for XSS vulnerabilities. The mitigation strategy should also consider implementing Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution capabilities within the browser context, and establishing proper access controls to limit exposure of the Orchestrator functionality to only trusted users who require such access.