{"cve":"CVE-2020-7942","nvd":{"published":"2020-02-19T21:15:11.747","modified":"2026-06-17T03:25:40.200","status":"Modified","description":"Previously, Puppet operated on a model that a node with a valid certificate was entitled to all information in the system and that a compromised certificate allowed access to everything in the infrastructure. When a node's catalog falls back to the `default` node, the catalog can be retrieved for a different node by modifying facts for the Puppet run. This issue can be mitigated by setting `strict_hostname_checking = true` in `puppet.conf` on your Puppet master. Puppet 6.13.0 and 5.5.19 changes the default behavior for strict_hostname_checking from false to true. It is recommended that Puppet Open Source and Puppet Enterprise users that are not upgrading still set strict_hostname_checking to true to ensure secure behavior. Affected software versions: Puppet 6.x prior to 6.13.0 Puppet Agent 6.x prior to 6.13.0 Puppet 5.5.x prior to 5.5.19 Puppet Agent 5.5.x prior to 5.5.19 Resolved in: Puppet 6.13.0 Puppet Agent 6.13.0 Puppet 5.5.19 Puppet Agent 5.5.19","cvss_v4":null,"cvss_v3":{"version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N","score":6.5},"cwes":["CWE-295"],"references":["https://puppet.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-7942/","https://puppet.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-7942/"],"products":["puppet:puppet","puppet:puppet_agent"],"source":"nvd","synced_at":"2026-10-19T21:02:53.949909883+00:00"},"epss":{"cve":"CVE-2020-7942","score":0.00801,"percentile":0.56625,"date":"2026-11-01"},"kev":null,"osv":[{"id":"GHSA-gqvf-892r-vjm5","url":"https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-gqvf-892r-vjm5","summary":"Improper Certificate Validation in Puppet","modified":"2024-02-22T05:39:45.872465Z","packages":[{"ecosystem":"RubyGems","name":"puppet","purl":"pkg:gem/puppet","ranges":[">=6.0.0 <6.13.0"],"fixed":["6.13.0"]},{"ecosystem":"RubyGems","name":"puppet","purl":"pkg:gem/puppet","ranges":["<5.5.19"],"fixed":["5.5.19"]}]}],"attribution":["This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.","EPSS scores: FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System, https://www.first.org/epss","Known exploited vulnerabilities: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","Package advisories: OSV (https://osv.dev), from the GitHub Advisory Database, PyPA, Go, RustSec and other ecosystem databases, under CC-BY 4.0 or CC0","CVE records: the CVE Program's CVE List (https://www.cve.org), under its terms of use (https://www.cve.org/Legal/TermsOfUse). CVE is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation; this product is not affiliated with the CVE Program."]}