Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Puppet Enterprise versions before 2016.4.5 or 2017.2.1 shipped with an MCollective configuration that could allow package installation or removal across managed agents. In affected environments, this is a fleet-wide operational and security risk, not just a single-server issue.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation where Puppet Enterprise manages production servers at scale. The business concern is centralized package change capability across many agents. If affected versions are retired or isolated, urgency is lower, but validation should be documented.
Technical view
The issue is a permissive default MCollective package plugin configuration in Puppet Enterprise. Sources state the plugin could install or remove arbitrary packages on all managed agents. Puppet resolved this by adding default configuration that blocks those actions, while allowing customers to change policy if needed.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to Puppet Enterprise deployments prior to 2016.4.5 or 2017.2.1 that used the affected MCollective package plugin configuration. The source bundle does not identify affected open-source Puppet versions, specific operating systems, or cloud services.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing, active exploitation, public exploit code, or observed attacks. Risk comes from the potential administrative blast radius if the permissive package action configuration is reachable or misused in an affected deployment.
Researcher notes
Evidence is sparse: no CVSS, CWE, exploit status, or detailed attack prerequisites are provided. Treat the core issue as unsafe default authorization policy for MCollective package actions in Puppet Enterprise before the named fixed releases.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade Puppet Enterprise to 2016.4.5, 2017.2.1, or a later fixed release.
- Review Puppet’s advisory before changing package plugin policy.
- Ensure MCollective package install and remove actions are disabled unless explicitly required.
- Document any business dependency on these package actions and compensating controls.
- Audit recent fleet package changes for unexpected installs or removals.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Puppet Enterprise versions across management infrastructure.
- Confirm whether affected versions remain in production or recovery environments.
- Review MCollective package plugin policy for install and remove permissions.
- Verify fixed default configuration is present after upgrade.
- Check change logs for unexpected package operations on managed agents.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CVE-2017-2293 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://puppet.com/security/cve/cve-2017-2293CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.