CVE-2023-34049: Salt Salt Preflight Script Could Be Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-4277-m35q-7c9w
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CVSS 6.7
CWE-340
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-34049 is a MODERATE (CVSS 6.7) salt preflight script could be vulnerability (CWE-340: Generation of Predictable Numbers or Identifiers) affecting Salt libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves salt preflight script could be attacker controlled. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3005.4, 3006.4.

CVE-2023-34049 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-34049
GHSA Identifier GHSA-4277-m35q-7c9w
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 6.7
CWE Classification CWE-340: Generation of Predictable Numbers or Identifiers
Affected Product Salt
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 6.7

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity High (AC:H)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction Required (UI:R)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2023-34049

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Salt dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

salt fixed: 3005.4 
pip install salt>=3005.4
salt fixed: 3006.4 
pip install salt>=3006.4
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

pip show salt

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2023-34049, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show salt

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Salt in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3005.4), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show salt command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-340: Generation of Predictable Numbers or Identifiers, where the product uses a scheme that generates numbers or identifiers that are more predictable than required. In Salt, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

The Salt-SSH pre-flight option copies the script to the target at a predictable path, which allows an attacker to force Salt-SSH to run their script. If an attacker has access to the target VM and knows the path to the pre-flight script before it runs they can ensure Salt-SSH runs their script with the privileges of the user running Salt-SSH. Do not make the copy path on the target predictable and ensure we check return codes of the scp command if the copy fails.

CVE-2023-34049 Affected Salt Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3005.43006.4
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
salt
pypi/salt
PyPI
< 3005.4
3005.4
salt
pypi/salt
PyPI
≥ 3006.0rc1
< 3006.4
3006.4

References

NVD — CVE-2023-34049 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-34049
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/saltstack/salt/commit/286d55eb5a6e6bf9428405bdf5632b419bdf8444
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/saltstack/salt/commit/7a14112f2a16ce70e3c3e1862c92e37af5f2c7a4
Salt Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/saltstack/salt
Salt Security Information SECURITY
https://saltproject.io/security-announcements/2023-10-27-advisory

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-34049?
CVE-2023-34049 is a security vulnerability in Salt involving Salt preflight script could be attacker controlled under CWE-340: Generation of Predictable Numbers or Identifiers.
Which Salt versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3005.4, 3006.4 across affected packages: salt.
What version fixes CVE-2023-34049?
Upgrading to 3005.4, 3006.4 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is salt affected?
Yes, salt is affected in releases prior to 3005.4, 3006.4. Upgrade your dependency to 3005.4, 3006.4 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-34049?
CVE-2023-34049 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.7 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-34049?
CVE-2023-34049 is classified under CWE-340: Generation of Predictable Numbers or Identifiers (The product uses a scheme that generates numbers or identifiers that are more predictable than required.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2023-34049?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show salt'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-4277-m35q-7c9w",
  "modified" : "2024-11-14T18:06:53Z",
  "published" : "2024-11-14T06:30:45Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-34049" ],
  "summary" : "Salt preflight script could be attacker controlled",
  "details" : "The Salt-SSH pre-flight option copies the script to the target at a predictable path, which allows an attacker to force Salt-SSH to run their script. If an attacker has access to the target VM and knows the path to the pre-flight script before it runs they can ensure Salt-SSH runs their script with the privileges of the user running Salt-SSH. Do not make the copy path on the target predictable and ensure we check return codes of the scp command if the copy fails.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "salt"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3005.4"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "salt"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3006.0rc1"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3006.4"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-34049"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/saltstack/salt/commit/286d55eb5a6e6bf9428405bdf5632b419bdf8444"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/saltstack/salt/commit/7a14112f2a16ce70e3c3e1862c92e37af5f2c7a4"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/saltstack/salt"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://saltproject.io/security-announcements/2023-10-27-advisory"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-340" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2024-11-14T18:06:53Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2024-11-14T05:15:28Z"
  }
}