CVE-2014-3248: Facter Facter, Hiera, Mcollective-client, And Puppet Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-92v7-pq4h-58j5
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Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2014-3248 is a MODERATE facter, hiera, mcollective-client, and puppet vulnerability (General Security Weakness) affecting Facter libraries in the RubyGems ecosystem. The issue involves facter, hiera, mcollective-client, and puppet affected by untrusted search path vulnerability. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.7.6, 2.0.2, 1.3.4, 2.7.26, 3.6.2, 2.5.2.

CVE-2014-3248 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2014-3248
GHSA Identifier GHSA-92v7-pq4h-58j5
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification General Security Weakness
Affected Product Facter
Package Ecosystem RubyGems
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2014-3248

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Facter dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

facter fixed: 1.7.6 
Upgrade facter to 1.7.6
facter fixed: 2.0.2 
Upgrade facter to 2.0.2
hiera fixed: 1.3.4 
Upgrade hiera to 1.3.4
puppet fixed: 2.7.26 
Upgrade puppet to 2.7.26
puppet fixed: 3.6.2 
Upgrade puppet to 3.6.2
mcollective-client fixed: 2.5.2 
Upgrade mcollective-client to 2.5.2
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

inspect dependencies for facter

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2014-3248, inspect your project dependencies for Facter:

inspect dependencies for facter

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Facter in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.7.6), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under General Security Weakness. In Facter, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

Untrusted search path vulnerability in Puppet Enterprise 2.8 before 2.8.7, Puppet before 2.7.26 and 3.x before 3.6.2, Facter 1.6.x and 2.x before 2.0.2, Hiera before 1.3.4, and Mcollective before 2.5.2, when running with Ruby 1.9.1 or earlier, allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse file in the current working directory, as demonstrated using (1) `rubygems/defaults/operating_system.rb`, (2) `Win32API.rb`, (3) `Win32API.so`, (4) `safe_yaml.rb`, (5) `safe_yaml/deep.rb`, or (6) `safe_yaml/deep.so`; or (7) `operatingsystem.rb`, (8) `operatingsystem.so`, (9) `osfamily.rb`, or (10) `osfamily.so` in `puppet/confine`.

CVE-2014-3248 Affected Facter Versions

6 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.7.62.0.21.3.42.7.263.6.22.5.2
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
facter
gem/facter
RubyGems
< 1.7.6
1.7.6
facter
gem/facter
RubyGems
≥ 2.0.0
< 2.0.2
2.0.2
hiera
gem/hiera
RubyGems
< 1.3.4
1.3.4
puppet
gem/puppet
RubyGems
< 2.7.26
2.7.26
puppet
gem/puppet
RubyGems
≥ 3.0.0
< 3.6.2
3.6.2
mcollective-client
gem/mcollective-client
RubyGems
< 2.5.2
2.5.2

References

NVD — CVE-2014-3248 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-3248
Facter Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/facter/CVE-2014-3248.yml
Facter Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/hiera/CVE-2014-3248.yml
Facter Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/mcollective-client/CVE-2014-3248.yml
Facter Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/puppet/CVE-2014-3248.yml
Facter Security Information SECURITY
https://web.archive.org/web/20141129061319/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/68035
web.archive.org/web/20150204183209/... WEB
https://web.archive.org/web/20150204183209/http://rowediness.com/2014/06/13/cve-2014-3248-a-little-problem-with-puppet
Facter Security Information SECURITY
https://web.archive.org/web/20150907182402/http://puppetlabs.com/security/cve/cve-2014-3248

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2014-3248?
CVE-2014-3248 is a security vulnerability in Facter involving facter, hiera, mcollective-client, and puppet affected by untrusted search path vulnerability under General Security Weakness.
Which Facter versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.7.6, 2.0.2, 1.3.4, 2.7.26, 3.6.2, 2.5.2 across affected packages: facter, hiera, puppet, mcollective-client.
What version fixes CVE-2014-3248?
Upgrading to 1.7.6, 2.0.2, 1.3.4, 2.7.26, 3.6.2, 2.5.2 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is facter affected?
Yes, facter is affected in releases prior to 1.7.6, 2.0.2. Upgrade your dependency to 1.7.6, 2.0.2 or later.
Is hiera affected?
Yes, hiera is affected in releases prior to 1.3.4. Upgrade your dependency to 1.3.4 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2014-3248?
CVE-2014-3248 is classified under General Security Weakness.
How can I check RubyGems dependencies for CVE-2014-3248?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for facter'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-92v7-pq4h-58j5",
  "modified" : "2023-06-07T14:06:11Z",
  "published" : "2017-10-24T18:33:36Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2014-3248" ],
  "summary" : "facter, hiera, mcollective-client, and puppet affected by untrusted search path vulnerability",
  "details" : "Untrusted search path vulnerability in Puppet Enterprise 2.8 before 2.8.7, Puppet before 2.7.26 and 3.x before 3.6.2, Facter 1.6.x and 2.x before 2.0.2, Hiera before 1.3.4, and Mcollective before 2.5.2, when running with Ruby 1.9.1 or earlier, allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse file in the current working directory, as demonstrated using (1) `rubygems/defaults/operating_system.rb`, (2) `Win32API.rb`, (3) `Win32API.so`, (4) `safe_yaml.rb`, (5) `safe_yaml/deep.rb`, or (6) `safe_yaml/deep.so`; or (7) `operatingsystem.rb`, (8) `operatingsystem.so`, (9) `osfamily.rb`, or (10) `osfamily.so` in `puppet/confine`.",
  "severity" : [ ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "RubyGems",
      "name" : "facter"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.7.6"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "RubyGems",
      "name" : "facter"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.0.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "RubyGems",
      "name" : "hiera"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.3.4"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "RubyGems",
      "name" : "puppet"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.7.26"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "RubyGems",
      "name" : "puppet"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.6.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "RubyGems",
      "name" : "mcollective-client"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.5.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-3248"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/facter/CVE-2014-3248.yml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/hiera/CVE-2014-3248.yml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/mcollective-client/CVE-2014-3248.yml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/puppet/CVE-2014-3248.yml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20141129061319/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/68035"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20150204183209/http://rowediness.com/2014/06/13/cve-2014-3248-a-little-problem-with-puppet"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20150907182402/http://puppetlabs.com/security/cve/cve-2014-3248"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-06-16T21:27:08Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2014-11-16T17:59:00Z"
  }
}