CVE-2018-11751 Explained : Impact and Mitigation

Puppet Agent versions prior to 6.4.0 were affected by an improper certificate validation vulnerability.

Understanding CVE-2018-11751

In earlier editions of Puppet Agent, the verification of the peer in the SSL connection was not performed before retrieving the Certificate Revocation List (CRL). This issue has been resolved in Puppet Agent 6.4.0.

What is CVE-2018-11751?

CVE-2018-11751 is an improper certificate validation vulnerability in Puppet Agent versions prior to 6.4.0.

The Impact of CVE-2018-11751

The vulnerability could allow an attacker to perform man-in-the-middle attacks due to the lack of proper SSL peer verification.

Technical Details of CVE-2018-11751

Vulnerability Description

Previous versions of Puppet Agent did not verify the peer in the SSL connection before downloading the CRL, exposing systems to potential security risks.

Affected Systems and Versions

Affected Product: Puppet Agent, Puppet
Affected Versions: Puppet Agent 6.x prior to 6.4.0, Puppet 6.x prior to 6.4.x

Exploitation Mechanism

The vulnerability could be exploited by attackers to intercept communication between Puppet Agents and the Puppet server, potentially leading to unauthorized access or data manipulation.

Mitigation and Prevention

Immediate Steps to Take

Upgrade Puppet Agent to version 6.4.0 or later to mitigate the vulnerability.
Ensure SSL peer verification is properly configured in Puppet environments.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly monitor and update SSL configurations to maintain secure communication channels.
Implement network segmentation and access controls to limit the impact of potential attacks.

Patching and Updates

Stay informed about security updates and patches released by Puppet for Puppet Agent to address known vulnerabilities.