CVE-2021-3148: Salt SaltStack Salt Command Injection Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-ghc2-hx3w-jqmp
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-77
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-3148 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) saltstack salt command injection vulnerability (CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection')) affecting Salt libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves saltstack salt command injection in the salt-api when using the salt-ssh client. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2015.8.13, 2016.11.5, 2016.11.10, 2017.7.8, 2019.2.8, 3000.7, 3001.5, 3002.3.

CVE-2021-3148 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-3148
GHSA Identifier GHSA-ghc2-hx3w-jqmp
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection')
Affected Product Salt
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

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

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2021-3148

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: 2015.8.13 
pip install salt>=2015.8.13
salt fixed: 2016.11.5 
pip install salt>=2016.11.5
salt fixed: 2016.11.10 
pip install salt>=2016.11.10
salt fixed: 2017.7.8 
pip install salt>=2017.7.8
salt fixed: Latest secure release 
pip install salt>=Latest secure release
salt fixed: 2019.2.8 
pip install salt>=2019.2.8
salt fixed: 3000.7 
pip install salt>=3000.7
salt fixed: 3001.5 
pip install salt>=3001.5
salt fixed: 3002.3 
pip install salt>=3002.3
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-2021-3148, 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 2015.8.13), 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-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection'), where the product constructs all or part of a command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended command when it is sent to a downstream component. 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

An issue was discovered in SaltStack Salt before 3002.5. Sending crafted web requests to the Salt API can result in `salt.utils.thin.gen_thin()` command injection because of different handling of single versus double quotes. This is related to `salt/utils/thin.py`.

CVE-2021-3148 Affected Salt Versions

9 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2015.8.132016.11.52016.11.102017.7.82019.2.83000.73001.53002.3
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
salt
pypi/salt
PyPI
< 2015.8.13
2015.8.13
salt
pypi/salt
PyPI
≥ 2016.3.0
< 2016.11.5
2016.11.5
salt
pypi/salt
PyPI
≥ 2016.11.7
< 2016.11.10
2016.11.10
salt
pypi/salt
PyPI
≥ 2017.5.0
< 2017.7.8
2017.7.8
salt
pypi/salt
PyPI
≥ 2018.2.0
≤ 2018.3.5
salt
pypi/salt
PyPI
≥ 2019.2.0
< 2019.2.8
2019.2.8
salt
pypi/salt
PyPI
≥ 3000
< 3000.7
3000.7
salt
pypi/salt
PyPI
≥ 3001
< 3001.5
3001.5
salt
pypi/salt
PyPI
≥ 3002
< 3002.3
3002.3

References

NVD — CVE-2021-3148 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-3148
Salt Security Information SECURITY
https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-5011
Salt Security Information SECURITY
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202310-22
Salt Security Information SECURITY
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202103-01
Salt Release RELEASE
https://saltproject.io/security_announcements/active-saltstack-cve-release-2021-feb-25
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/YOGNT2XWPOYV7YT75DN7PS4GIYWFKOK5
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/FUGLOJ6NXLCIFRD2JTXBYQEMAEF2B6XH
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/7GRVZ5WAEI3XFN2BDTL6DDXFS5HYSDVB
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/YOGNT2XWPOYV7YT75DN7PS4GIYWFKOK5
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/FUGLOJ6NXLCIFRD2JTXBYQEMAEF2B6XH
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/7GRVZ5WAEI3XFN2BDTL6DDXFS5HYSDVB
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/11/msg00009.html
Salt Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/saltstack/salt/releases
Salt Release RELEASE
https://github.com/saltstack/salt/blob/8f9405cf8e6f7d7776d5000841c886dec6d96250/doc/topics/releases/3002.3.rst#L23
Salt Release RELEASE
https://github.com/saltstack/salt/blob/8f9405cf8e6f7d7776d5000841c886dec6d96250/doc/topics/releases/3001.5.rst#L23
Salt Release RELEASE
https://github.com/saltstack/salt/blob/8f9405cf8e6f7d7776d5000841c886dec6d96250/doc/topics/releases/3000.7.rst#L23
Salt Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/saltstack/salt/blob/8f9405cf8e6f7d7776d5000841c886dec6d96250/CHANGELOG.md?plain=1#L2374
Salt Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/saltstack/salt
Salt Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/salt/PYSEC-2021-55.yaml

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-3148?
CVE-2021-3148 is a security vulnerability in Salt involving SaltStack Salt command injection in the Salt-API when using the Salt-SSH client under CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection').
Which Salt versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2015.8.13, 2016.11.5, 2016.11.10, 2017.7.8, 2019.2.8, 3000.7, 3001.5, 3002.3 across affected packages: salt.
What version fixes CVE-2021-3148?
Upgrading to 2015.8.13, 2016.11.5, 2016.11.10, 2017.7.8, 2019.2.8, 3000.7, 3001.5, 3002.3 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is salt affected?
Yes, salt is affected in releases prior to 2015.8.13, 2016.11.5, 2016.11.10, 2017.7.8, Latest secure release, 2019.2.8, 3000.7, 3001.5, 3002.3. Upgrade your dependency to 2015.8.13, 2016.11.5, 2016.11.10, 2017.7.8, Latest secure release, 2019.2.8, 3000.7, 3001.5, 3002.3 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-3148?
CVE-2021-3148 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-3148?
CVE-2021-3148 is classified under CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection') (The product constructs all or part of a command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended command when it is sent to a downstream component.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2021-3148?
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 
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  "id" : "GHSA-ghc2-hx3w-jqmp",
  "modified" : "2024-10-23T18:27:41Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-24T17:43:23Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-3148" ],
  "summary" : "SaltStack Salt command injection in the Salt-API when using the Salt-SSH client",
  "details" : "An issue was discovered in SaltStack Salt before 3002.5. Sending crafted web requests to the Salt API can result in `salt.utils.thin.gen_thin()` command injection because of different handling of single versus double quotes. This is related to `salt/utils/thin.py`.",
  "severity" : [ {
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}