Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-5255

Medium

Published: 03 October 2023

Published
03 October 2023
Modified
20 November 2025
KEV Added
Patch
CVSS Score v3.1 4.4 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0015 35.3th percentile
Risk Priority 9 60% EPSS · 20% KEV · 20% CVSS

Summary

CVE-2023-5255 is a medium-severity Improper Resource Shutdown or Release (CWE-404) vulnerability in Puppet Puppet Server. Its CVSS base score is 4.4 (Medium).

Operationally, ranked at the 35.3th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability details

For certificates that utilize the auto-renew feature in Puppet Server, a flaw exists which prevents the certificates from being revoked.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.

Affected Assets

puppet
puppet enterprise
2023.3
puppet
puppet server
8.2.0, 8.2.1

Mitigating Controls

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-404

Contingency plan updates incorporate proper resource shutdown and release steps, preventing attackers from leveraging incomplete cleanup during recovery scenarios.

addresses: CWE-404

Mandates explicit shutdown of the network connection at session conclusion, directly addressing improper resource release.

addresses: CWE-404

Requires proper shutdown/release procedures that include overwriting or isolating data to block unintended transfer via reused system objects.

addresses: CWE-404

Procedures can mandate orderly shutdown or release of resources when failures occur, preventing improper resource handling after a fault.

References