CVE-2012-1989 Puppet allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack

Low 3.6 Published 27 Jun 2012 Updated 6 Aug 2024

Local attackers can overwrite arbitrary files via symlink attacks on Puppet's telnet log, requiring an upgrade to secure the system.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: Any signed-in user
Attackable: Local or same network only
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: Available

What is CVE-2012-1989?

CVE-2012-1989 is a low-severity path traversal vulnerability in Puppet Puppet Enterprise, published on 27 Jun 2012. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

telnet.rb in Puppet 2.7.x before 2.7.13 and Puppet Enterprise (PE) 1.2.x, 2.0.x, and 2.5.x before 2.5.1 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on the NET::Telnet connection log (/tmp/out.log).

Weakness: CWE-264

Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-1989?

2 open source packages ship an affected version, including puppet. It affects 3 products.

Package	Affected	Fixed in
`puppet` RubyGems	From `2.7.1`	`2.7.13`
`puppet` RubyGems	From `2.7.1`	`2.7.13`

Products include Puppet Puppet, Puppet Puppet Enterprise, Puppetlabs Puppet.

How do I fix CVE-2012-1989?

Upgrade puppet to 2.7.13 or later.

Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.

Is CVE-2012-1989 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-1989 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Puppet Puppet Enterprise vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2012-1989, GHSA-c5qq-g673-5p49.