# CVE-2018-11749: Information disclosure in Puppet Enterprise

> Puppet Enterprise sends user credentials in plaintext when startTLS with RBAC LDAP is configured, allowing attackers to intercept sensitive login information.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 24 Aug 2018
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-qh8x-vwrj-w4f2

## What is CVE-2018-11749?

CVE-2018-11749 is a critical vulnerability in Puppet Puppet Enterprise, published on 24 Aug 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

When users are configured to use startTLS with RBAC LDAP, at login time, the user's credentials are sent via plaintext to the LDAP server. This affects Puppet Enterprise 2018.1.3, 2017.3.9, and 2016.4.14, and is fixed in Puppet Enterprise 2018.1.4, 2017.3.10, and 2016.4.15. It scored an 8.5 CVSS score.

Weakness: CWE-319 (Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-11749?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Puppet Puppet Enterprise.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-11749?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-11749 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-11749 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-11749 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Puppet Puppet Enterprise

- [CVE-2023-2530](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-2530/): Privilege escalation in Puppet Enterprise (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2019-10694](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-10694/): Hardcoded credentials in Puppet Enterprise (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-27020](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-27020/): Other in Puppet Enterprise (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2015-5686](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-5686/): Cross-site request forgery in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2016-5716](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-5716/): Code injection in Puppet Enterprise (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-11749 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-11749 is a critical vulnerability in Puppet Puppet Enterprise, published on 24 Aug 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-11749 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Puppet Puppet Enterprise. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-11749/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-11749/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-11749
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-11749
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-11749

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-11749/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.