CVE-2026-85979

Received Received - Intake

Command Injection in Puppet Enterprise

Publication date: 2026-09-11

Last updated on: 2026-09-16

Assigner: Perforce

Description

Affected versions of Puppet Enterprise contain a command injection vulnerability. An authenticated user with Puppet administrative privileges can inject arbitrary shell commands by providing a specially crafted value for this parameter, which is passed to a shell execution context without sufficient sanitization. Because the resulting commands are executed with root privileges, successful exploitation can lead to full compromise of the affected system. It affects Puppet Enterprise 2023.8.0 through 2023.8.10 and Puppet Enterprise 2025.0.0 through 2025.11.2. This has been resolved in Puppet Enterprise 2023.8.11 and Puppet Enterprise 2025.11.3.

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

Probability:
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Meta Information

Published

2026-09-11

Last Modified

2026-09-16

Generated

2026-10-02

AI Q&A

2026-09-11

EPSS Evaluated

2026-09-30

NVD

CVE-2026-85979

EUVD

EUVD-2026-76124

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
puppet	puppet_enterprise	*

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-78	The product constructs all or part of an OS command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended OS command when it is sent to a downstream component.
CWE-20	The product receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly.
CWE-269	The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

This is a command injection vulnerability in Puppet Enterprise. It affects the java_keystore_passwd parameter, which is not properly sanitized before being passed to a shell execution context. An authenticated user with administrative privileges can exploit this to inject arbitrary shell commands. Since these commands run with root privileges, an attacker could fully compromise the system.

Detection Guidance

Check Puppet Enterprise logs for suspicious java_keystore_passwd parameter values or unexpected shell command executions. Review system logs for root-level commands not initiated by authorized Puppet processes.

Impact Analysis

If you use an affected version of Puppet Enterprise, an attacker with administrative access could execute arbitrary commands as root. This could allow them to take full control of your system, install malware, steal data, or disrupt operations.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability could lead to unauthorized access and data breaches, violating GDPR and HIPAA requirements for data protection and access controls. Organizations may face fines, legal action, and reputational damage if exploited.

Mitigation Strategies

Apply the latest Puppet Enterprise patch immediately. Restrict Puppet administrative privileges to only necessary users. Monitor for unauthorized root-level command executions.

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