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NVD / CVE Program· CNA puppet

CVE-2016-9686: The Puppet Communications Protocol (PCP) Broker incorrectly validates message header sizes.

MediumCVSS 5.3 · v3.0—No exploit No fix recorded

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 21/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 1.2% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 70.4% of all records.
  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. No account or password is required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • According to the record, no fixed version is available yet.

Low priority for now. Update when a fix is released; follow the vendor's advisory.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

The Puppet Communications Protocol (PCP) Broker incorrectly validates message header sizes. An attacker could use this to crash the PCP Broker, preventing commands from being sent to agents. This is resolved in Puppet Enterprise 2016.4.3 and 2016.5.2.

Published
Feb 8, 2017
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
1.2% · 70th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

21

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
21 / 40 · 5.3 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 1.2%

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • No fixed version yet

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

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When you'll hear from us

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  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
puppetpuppet enterprise

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (puppet). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • Puppet Puppet Enterprise

    • 2015.3.x, 2016.x prior to 2016.4.3, 2016.5.1.affected

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • puppet puppet enterprise2016.4.0 and later · before 2016.4.3
  • puppet puppet enterprise2016.5.1

Same product

puppet: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2023-5309Broken Session Management in Puppet Enterprise
    39Monitor
  • CVE-2023-2530A privilege escalation allowing remote code execution was discovered in the orchestration service.
    39Monitor
  • CVE-2019-10694The express install, which is the suggested way to install Puppet Enterprise, gives the user a URL at the end of the install to set the…
    39Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2015-6501Jan 12, 2017 · Open redirect vulnerability in the Console in Puppet Enterprise before 2015.2.1 allows remote attackers to redirect users to arbitrary web…
    24Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2016-5715Jan 12, 2017 · Open redirect vulnerability in the Console in Puppet Enterprise 2015.x and 2016.x before 2016.4.0 allows remote attackers to redirect users…
    24Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2016-2787Feb 13, 2017 · The Puppet Communications Protocol in Puppet Enterprise 2015.3.x before 2015.3.3 does not properly validate certificates for the broker…
    21Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

Not on record for this CVE: EPSS history · patch commit or PR link · researcher credit · variant or chain candidate · public bounty program.

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
none
Integrity
none
Availability
low · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
None
Integrity impact
None
Availability impact
Low

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-20 · Improper Input Validation

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

References

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records