CVE-2021-22004: Salt Improper Authentication Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-xf37-qcvf-7m57
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CVSS 6.4
CWE-287
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-22004 is a HIGH (CVSS 6.4) improper authentication vulnerability (CWE-287: Improper Authentication) affecting Salt libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves improper authentication in saltstack salt. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3003.3.

CVE-2021-22004 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-22004
GHSA Identifier GHSA-xf37-qcvf-7m57
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 6.4
CWE Classification CWE-287: Improper Authentication
Affected Product Salt
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 6.4

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

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity High (AC:H)
Privileges Required High (PR:H)
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-2021-22004

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: 3003.3 
pip install salt>=3003.3
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-2021-22004, 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 3003.3), 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-287: Improper Authentication, where when an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct. 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 3003.3. The salt minion installer will accept and use a minion config file at C:\salt\conf if that file is in place before the installer is run. This allows for a malicious actor to subvert the proper behaviour of the given minion software.

CVE-2021-22004 Affected Salt Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3003.3
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
salt
pypi/salt
PyPI
< 3003.3
3003.3

References

NVD — CVE-2021-22004 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-22004
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-xf37-qcvf-7m57
Salt Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/salt/PYSEC-2021-346.yaml
Salt Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/saltstack/salt
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/6BUWUF5VTENNP2ZYZBVFKPSUHLKLUBD5
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/ACVT7M4YLZRLWWQ6SGRK3C6TOF4FXOXT
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/MBAHHSGZLEJRCG4DX6J4RBWJAAWH55RQ
Salt Security Information SECURITY
https://saltproject.io/security_announcements/salt-security-advisory-2021-sep-02

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-22004?
CVE-2021-22004 is a security vulnerability in Salt involving Improper Authentication in SaltStack Salt under CWE-287: Improper Authentication.
Which Salt versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3003.3 across affected packages: salt.
What version fixes CVE-2021-22004?
Upgrading to 3003.3 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is salt affected?
Yes, salt is affected in releases prior to 3003.3. Upgrade your dependency to 3003.3 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-22004?
CVE-2021-22004 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.4 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-22004?
CVE-2021-22004 is classified under CWE-287: Improper Authentication (When an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2021-22004?
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-xf37-qcvf-7m57",
  "modified" : "2024-10-26T22:50:14Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-24T19:13:30Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-22004" ],
  "summary" : "Improper Authentication in SaltStack Salt",
  "details" : "An issue was discovered in SaltStack Salt before 3003.3. The salt minion installer will accept and use a minion config file at C:\\salt\\conf if that file is in place before the installer is run. This allows for a malicious actor to subvert the proper behaviour of the given minion software.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "salt"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3003.3"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-22004"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-xf37-qcvf-7m57"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/salt/PYSEC-2021-346.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/saltstack/salt"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/6BUWUF5VTENNP2ZYZBVFKPSUHLKLUBD5"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/ACVT7M4YLZRLWWQ6SGRK3C6TOF4FXOXT"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/MBAHHSGZLEJRCG4DX6J4RBWJAAWH55RQ"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://saltproject.io/security_announcements/salt-security-advisory-2021-sep-02"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-287" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-06-23T06:42:48Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-09-08T15:15:00Z"
  }
}