CVE-2020-16846: SaltStack Salt Shell Injection Vulnerability

Published Nov 6, 2020
·
Updated

A user could use shell injections with the Salt API using the SSH Client.

Other sources

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.

— Launchpad

SaltStack Salt allows an unauthenticated user with network access to the Salt API to use shell injections to run code on the Salt API using the SSH client. This vulnerability affects any users running the Salt API.

— CISA

Affected Software

31 affected componentsFixes available
debian/salt
pip/salt>=3002<3002.1
3002.1
pip/salt>=3001<3001.2
3001.2
pip/salt>=3000.0<3000.4
3000.4
pip/salt>=2019.2.0<2019.2.6
2019.2.6
pip/salt>=2018.2.0<2018.3.5
2018.3.5
pip/salt>=2017.5.0<2017.7.8
2017.7.8
pip/salt>=2016.11.0<2016.11.10
2016.11.10
pip/salt>=2016.3.0<2016.3.8
2016.3.8
pip/salt<2015.8.13
2015.8.13
SaltStack Salt
SaltStack Salt<3002, <3001.1, 3001.2, <3000.3, 3000.4, <2019.2.5, 2019.2.6, <2018.3.5, <2017.7.4, 2017.7.8, <2016.11.3, 2016.11.6, 2016.11.10, <2016.3.4, 2016.3.6, 2016.3.8, <2015.8.10, 2015.8.13, <3002.x, <3001.x, <3000.x, <2019.x
30023001.1, 3001.23000.3, 3000.42019.2.5, 2019.2.62018.3.52017.7.4, 2017.7.82016.11.3, 2016.11.6, 2016.11.102016.3.4, 2016.3.6, 2016.3.82015.8.10, 2015.8.133002.x3001.x3000.x2019.x
SaltStack Salt<2015.8.10
SaltStack Salt>=2015.8.11<2015.8.13
SaltStack Salt>=2016.3.0<2016.3.4
SaltStack Salt>=2016.3.5<2016.3.6
SaltStack Salt>=2016.3.7<2016.3.8
SaltStack Salt>=2016.11.0<2016.11.3
SaltStack Salt>=2016.11.4<2016.11.6
SaltStack Salt>=2016.11.7<2016.11.10
SaltStack Salt>=2017.5.0<2017.7.4
SaltStack Salt>=2017.7.5<2017.7.8
SaltStack Salt>=2018.2.0<2018.3.5
SaltStack Salt>=2019.2.0<2019.2.5
SaltStack Salt>=3000.0<3000.3
SaltStack Salt=3001
Debian Debian Linux=9.0
Debian Debian Linux=10.0
SaltStack Salt=3002
Fedoraproject Fedora=31
openSUSE Leap=15.1

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade pip/salt to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 3002.1
  2. Upgrade

    Upgrade pip/salt to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 3001.2
  3. Upgrade

    Upgrade pip/salt to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 3000.4
  4. Upgrade

    Upgrade pip/salt to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 2019.2.6
  5. Upgrade

    Upgrade pip/salt to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 2018.3.5
  6. Upgrade

    Upgrade pip/salt to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 2017.7.8
  7. Upgrade

    Upgrade pip/salt to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 2016.11.10
  8. Upgrade

    Upgrade pip/salt to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 2016.3.8
  9. Upgrade

    Upgrade pip/salt to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 2015.8.13
  10. Upgrade

    Upgrade SaltStack to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 3002Fixed in 3001.1, 3001.2Fixed in 3000.3, 3000.4Fixed in 2019.2.5, 2019.2.6Fixed in 2018.3.5Fixed in 2017.7.4, 2017.7.8Fixed in 2016.11.3, 2016.11.6, 2016.11.10Fixed in 2016.3.4, 2016.3.6, 2016.3.8Fixed in 2015.8.10, 2015.8.13Fixed in 3002.xFixed in 3001.xFixed in 3000.xFixed in 2019.x

Event History

Nov 6, 2020
CVE Published
via MITRE·07:27 AM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·07:27 AM
Description
Data Sourced
via NVD·08:15 AM
DescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software
Nov 24, 2020
Advisory Published
via ZDI·12:00 AM
Data Sourced
via ZDI·12:00 AM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Updated
via ZDI·12:00 AM
Description
Nov 3, 2021
Known Exploited
via CISA·12:00 AM
May 24, 2022
Advisory Published
via GitHub·05:33 PM
Aug 8, 2024
Data Sourced
via Launchpad·08:23 PM
Description
Jan 10, 2025
Data Sourced
via Ubuntu·06:15 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityAffected Software

Parent advisories

This vulnerability appears in the following advisories.

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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is CVE-2020-16846?

CVE-2020-16846 is a SaltStack Salt Shell Injection Vulnerability.

2

How severe is CVE-2020-16846?

CVE-2020-16846 has a severity rating of 9.8 (critical).

3

What software is affected by CVE-2020-16846?

CVE-2020-16846 affects installations of SaltStack Salt versions 2018.3.4+dfsg1-6+deb10u3, 3002.6+dfsg1-4+deb11u1, and 3004.1+dfsg-2.2.

4

Is authentication required to exploit CVE-2020-16846?

No, authentication is not required to exploit CVE-2020-16846.

5

How can I fix CVE-2020-16846?

To fix CVE-2020-16846, it is recommended to update to a patched version of SaltStack Salt.

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