RCE in Saltstack Salt
CVE-2020-16846
An issue was discovered in SaltStack Salt through 3002. Sending crafted web requests to the Salt API, with the SSH client enabled, can result in shell injection.
Vulnerability class: Command Injection (OS Command Injection)
EPSS: 0.996 (99.9th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 9.8 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
Affected products
- Saltstack Salt — versions 3001, 3002
- Debian Debian_linux — versions 9.0, 10.0
- Fedoraproject Fedora — versions 31
- Opensuse Leap — versions 15.1
- N/a — versions n/a
Weakness classification (CWE)
CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities)
This CVE is on the CISA KEV catalog, added on . CISA KEV inclusion means CISA has confirmed in-the-wild exploitation; US federal agencies are required to remediate within a published due date.
BOD 22-01 due date: .
Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Public proof-of-concept exploits
References
- cve@mitre.org (x_refsource_MISC, Release Notes)
- cve@mitre.org (x_refsource_CONFIRM, Broken Link, Vendor Advisory)
- cve@mitre.org (x_refsource_FEDORA, vendor-advisory, Release Notes)
- cve@mitre.org (vendor-advisory, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory, x_refsource_SUSE)
- cve@mitre.org (vendor-advisory, Third Party Advisory, x_refsource_GENTOO)
- cve@mitre.org (Exploit, VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, x_refsource_MISC)
- cve@mitre.org (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, x_refsource_MISC)
- cve@mitre.org (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, x_refsource_MISC)
- cve@mitre.org (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, x_refsource_MISC)
- cve@mitre.org (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, x_refsource_MISC)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2020-16846?
- CVE-2020-16846 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Saltstack Salt, classified under OS Command Injection. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2020-11-06.
- How severe is CVE-2020-16846?
- Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.
- Is CVE-2020-16846 known to be exploited?
- Yes. CVE-2020-16846 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-11-03), indicating it is being actively exploited. 38 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.