CVE-2012-1053: Puppet Puppet Privilege Escallation Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-77hg-g8cc-5r37
Share
CWE-269
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2012-1053 is a MODERATE puppet privilege escallation vulnerability (CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management) affecting Puppet libraries in the RubyGems ecosystem. The issue involves puppet privilege escallation. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.6.14, 2.7.11.

CVE-2012-1053 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2012-1053
GHSA Identifier GHSA-77hg-g8cc-5r37
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management
Affected Product Puppet
Package Ecosystem RubyGems
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2012-1053

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

puppet fixed: 2.6.14 
Upgrade puppet to 2.6.14
puppet fixed: 2.7.11 
Upgrade puppet to 2.7.11
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 puppet

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2012-1053, inspect your project dependencies for Puppet:

inspect dependencies for puppet

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Puppet in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.6.14), 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 CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management, where the product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor. In Puppet, 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

The change_user method in the SUIDManager (lib/puppet/util/suidmanager.rb) in Puppet 2.6.x before 2.6.14 and 2.7.x before 2.7.11, and Puppet Enterprise (PE) Users 1.0, 1.1, 1.2.x, 2.0.x before 2.0.3 does not properly manage group privileges, which allows local users to gain privileges via vectors related to (1) the change_user not dropping supplementary groups in certain conditions, (2) changes to the eguid without associated changes to the egid, or (3) the addition of the real gid to supplementary groups.

CVE-2012-1053 Affected Puppet Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.6.142.7.11
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
puppet
gem/puppet
RubyGems
≥ 2.6
< 2.6.14
2.6.14
puppet
gem/puppet
RubyGems
≥ 2.7
< 2.7.11
2.7.11

References

NVD — CVE-2012-1053 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-1053
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/puppetlabs/puppet/commit/76d0749f0a9a496b70e7dc7e6d6d6ff692224e36
exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/734... WEB
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/73445
ubuntu.com/usn/usn-1372-1 WEB
https://ubuntu.com/usn/usn-1372-1
Puppet Security Information SECURITY
https://web.archive.org/web/20120504011717/http://puppetlabs.com/security/cve/cve-2012-1053
web.archive.org/web/20120513215447/... WEB
https://web.archive.org/web/20120513215447/http://projects.puppetlabs.com/issues/12458
web.archive.org/web/20120513215653/... WEB
https://web.archive.org/web/20120513215653/http://projects.puppetlabs.com/issues/12457
web.archive.org/web/20120513223437/... WEB
https://web.archive.org/web/20120513223437/http://projects.puppetlabs.com/issues/12459
Puppet Security Information SECURITY
https://web.archive.org/web/20120527071855/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/52158
web.archive.org/web/20120816020421/... WEB
https://web.archive.org/web/20120816020421/http://projects.puppetlabs.com/projects/1/wiki/Release_Notes#2.6.14
Puppet Security Information SECURITY
https://www.debian.org/security/2012/dsa-2419

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2012-1053?
CVE-2012-1053 is a security vulnerability in Puppet involving Puppet Privilege Escallation under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management.
Which Puppet versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.6.14, 2.7.11 across affected packages: puppet.
What version fixes CVE-2012-1053?
Upgrading to 2.6.14, 2.7.11 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is puppet affected?
Yes, puppet is affected in releases prior to 2.6.14, 2.7.11. Upgrade your dependency to 2.6.14, 2.7.11 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2012-1053?
CVE-2012-1053 is classified under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management (The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.).
How can I check RubyGems dependencies for CVE-2012-1053?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for puppet'. 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-77hg-g8cc-5r37",
  "modified" : "2023-08-29T21:12:37Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-14T00:56:44Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2012-1053" ],
  "summary" : "Puppet Privilege Escallation",
  "details" : "The change_user method in the SUIDManager (lib/puppet/util/suidmanager.rb) in Puppet 2.6.x before 2.6.14 and 2.7.x before 2.7.11, and Puppet Enterprise (PE) Users 1.0, 1.1, 1.2.x, 2.0.x before 2.0.3 does not properly manage group privileges, which allows local users to gain privileges via vectors related to (1) the change_user not dropping supplementary groups in certain conditions, (2) changes to the eguid without associated changes to the egid, or (3) the addition of the real gid to supplementary groups.",
  "severity" : [ ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "RubyGems",
      "name" : "puppet"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.6"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.6.14"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "RubyGems",
      "name" : "puppet"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.7"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.7.11"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-1053"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/puppetlabs/puppet/commit/76d0749f0a9a496b70e7dc7e6d6d6ff692224e36"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/73445"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://ubuntu.com/usn/usn-1372-1"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20120504011717/http://puppetlabs.com/security/cve/cve-2012-1053"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20120513215447/http://projects.puppetlabs.com/issues/12458"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20120513215653/http://projects.puppetlabs.com/issues/12457"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20120513223437/http://projects.puppetlabs.com/issues/12459"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20120527071855/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/52158"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20120816020421/http://projects.puppetlabs.com/projects/1/wiki/Release_Notes#2.6.14"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.debian.org/security/2012/dsa-2419"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-269" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-08-29T21:12:37Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2012-05-29T20:55:00Z"
  }
}