CVE-2016-2785

Puppet Improper Access Control

9.8 CriticalFix available

CVE-2016-2785 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.8) in Puppet, published June 10, 2016. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 2.89%, the 86th percentile. Fixed in puppet 4.4.2.

Puppet Server before 2.3.2 and Ruby puppetmaster in Puppet 4.x before 4.4.2 and in Puppet Agent before 1.4.2 might allow remote attackers to bypass intended auth.conf access restrictions by leveraging incorrect URL decoding.

Attack profile

How easy it is to exploit

Attack vector: Network
Complexity: Low
Privileges needed: None
User interaction: None

What an attacker can affect

Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: High

Exploit likelihood

2.89%Up 1.8 points since Feb 4, 2022

What each source reports

NVD Score used 9.8

Record: CVE-2016-2785
CVSS 3.1: 9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS 2.0: 7.5 HighAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
Weakness: CWE-284
Updated: 2026-11-02

CVE List No score

Record: CVE-2016-2785
Updated: 2026-11-02

EUVDEUVD-2022-4807 No score

Record: EUVD-2022-4807
Updated: 2026-11-03

GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-pqj5-7r86-64fv 9.8

Puppet Improper Access Control

Record: GHSA-pqj5-7r86-64fv
CVSS 3.1: 9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness: CWE-284
Updated: 2026-11-02

OSV 9.8

Record: CVE-2016-2785
CVSS 3.1: 9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated: 2026-11-02

OSVGHSA-pqj5-7r86-64fv 9.8