CVE-2011-3872 Remediation Toolkit

This module will help you permanently remediate the CVE-2011-3872 AltNames vulnerability.

Usage Guides

Please see the detailed usage guides at:

• README-detailed.markdown (for remediating your site with Puppet)
• README-ssh-only.markdown (For remediating your site with SSH)

Summary

• If your puppet master's certdnsnames setting has ever been turned on, your site is at risk for attacks via the CVE-2011-3872 AltNames vulnerability.
• The AltNames vulnerability will persist even after Puppet has been updated to an unaffected version. It must be specifically remediated, either manually or with this helper module.

Am I Vulnerable?

If you have used certdnsnames on your puppet master, you are potentially vulnerable. All Puppet Enterprise users have used certdnsnames at some point.

To quickly test whether you are vulnerable, you can use the scan_certs script included with this module. (Use the copy in bin/ for Puppet Enterprise, and the copy in bin/webrick for open-source Puppet.)

# bin/scan_certs

Status as of: 2011-10-23 19:42:26

                   Total Certificates Found:      7 *
                     Potentially Vulnerable:      7 (100.0%)
...

This script is not infallible, as it relies on the Puppet CA's certificate cache. If the cache has ever been deleted or modified, the script may return a false negative. You can also examine the local cert on any agent node by running:

openssl x509 -text -noout -in $(puppet agent --configprint hostcert)

...and looking for the X509v3 Subject Alternative Name field.

When in doubt, we recommend remediating the vulnerability.

How to Remediate CVE-2011-3872

You must fulfill two requirements to protect your site:

1. Disable puppet master's certdnsnames setting, and/or upgrade Puppet to an unaffected version.
2. Ensure that agents contact the master at a "clean" DNS name that has never been used as a subject alternative name by the site's CA.

There are multiple ways to meet the second requirement. You can:

• Pick a new DNS name and reconfigure all agents to use it
• Replace the CA and re-issue all certificates (so that ALL DNS names are "clean")
• Do both -- use a new DNS name for now, and clean your master's previous DNS name at your convenience

TO REMEDIATE YOUR SITE WITH PUPPET, see the README-detailed.markdown file included with this module.

TO REPLACE THE CA IMMEDIATELY WITH SSH, see the README-ssh-only.markdown file included with this module.

More Information

For more information about this vulnerability, including a FAQ, details about updated Puppet versions, and links to security hotfixes, go to: http://puppetlabs.com/security/cve/cve-2011-3872.