CVE-2018-15751: Salt SaltStack Salt Remote Command Execution Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-x549-r7m8-gv63
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-287
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-15751 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) saltstack salt remote command execution vulnerability (CWE-287: Improper Authentication) affecting Salt libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves saltstack salt remote command execution and incorrect access control when using salt-api. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2017.7.8, 2018.3.3, 2016.11.10.

CVE-2018-15751 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-15751
GHSA Identifier GHSA-x549-r7m8-gv63
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-287: Improper Authentication
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:3.0/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-2018-15751

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: 2017.7.8 
pip install salt>=2017.7.8
salt fixed: 2018.3.3 
pip install salt>=2018.3.3
salt fixed: 2016.11.10 
pip install salt>=2016.11.10
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-2018-15751, 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 2017.7.8), 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

SaltStack Salt 2016.11.x before 2016.11.10, 2017.7.x before 2017.7.8 and 2018.3.x before 2018.3.3 allow remote attackers to bypass authentication and execute arbitrary commands via salt-api(netapi).

CVE-2018-15751 Affected Salt Versions

3 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2017.7.82018.3.32016.11.10
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
salt
pypi/salt
PyPI
≥ 2017.7.0
< 2017.7.8
2017.7.8
salt
pypi/salt
PyPI
≥ 2018.3.0
< 2018.3.3
2018.3.3
salt
pypi/salt
PyPI
≥ 2016.11.0
< 2016.11.10
2016.11.10

References

usn.ubuntu.com/4459-1 WEB
https://usn.ubuntu.com/4459-1
NVD — CVE-2018-15751 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-15751
Salt Release RELEASE
https://docs.saltstack.com/en/2017.7/topics/releases/2017.7.8.html
Salt Release RELEASE
https://docs.saltstack.com/en/latest/topics/releases/2018.3.3.html
Salt Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/salt/PYSEC-2018-30.yaml
Salt Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/saltstack/salt
Salt Release RELEASE
https://github.com/saltstack/salt/blob/8f9405cf8e6f7d7776d5000841c886dec6d96250/doc/topics/releases/2016.11.10.rst#L13
Salt Release RELEASE
https://github.com/saltstack/salt/blob/8f9405cf8e6f7d7776d5000841c886dec6d96250/doc/topics/releases/2017.7.8.rst#L26
Salt Release RELEASE
https://github.com/saltstack/salt/blob/8f9405cf8e6f7d7776d5000841c886dec6d96250/doc/topics/releases/2018.3.3.rst#L56
groups.google.com/d/msg/salt-users/l9... WEB
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/salt-users/L9xqcJ0UXxs/qgDj42obBQAJ
groups.google.com/d/msg/salt-users/di... WEB
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/salt-users/dimVF7rpphY/jn3Xv3MbBQAJ
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/07/msg00024.html
Salt Security Information SECURITY
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-07/msg00070.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-15751?
CVE-2018-15751 is a security vulnerability in Salt involving SaltStack Salt Remote command execution and incorrect access control when using salt-api under CWE-287: Improper Authentication.
Which Salt versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2017.7.8, 2018.3.3, 2016.11.10 across affected packages: salt.
What version fixes CVE-2018-15751?
Upgrading to 2017.7.8, 2018.3.3, 2016.11.10 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is salt affected?
Yes, salt is affected in releases prior to 2017.7.8, 2018.3.3, 2016.11.10. Upgrade your dependency to 2017.7.8, 2018.3.3, 2016.11.10 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-15751?
CVE-2018-15751 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2018-15751?
CVE-2018-15751 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-2018-15751?
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-x549-r7m8-gv63",
  "modified" : "2024-10-23T18:30:30Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-13T01:23:13Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-15751" ],
  "summary" : "SaltStack Salt Remote command execution and incorrect access control when using salt-api",
  "details" : "SaltStack Salt 2016.11.x before 2016.11.10, 2017.7.x before 2017.7.8 and 2018.3.x before 2018.3.3 allow remote attackers to bypass authentication and execute arbitrary commands via salt-api(netapi).",
  "severity" : [ {
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    "type" : "WEB",
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  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/saltstack/salt/blob/8f9405cf8e6f7d7776d5000841c886dec6d96250/doc/topics/releases/2017.7.8.rst#L26"
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    "type" : "WEB",
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  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://groups.google.com/d/msg/salt-users/L9xqcJ0UXxs/qgDj42obBQAJ"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://groups.google.com/d/msg/salt-users/dimVF7rpphY/jn3Xv3MbBQAJ"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/07/msg00024.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://usn.ubuntu.com/4459-1"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-07/msg00070.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-287" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2024-04-22T22:21:19Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2018-10-24T22:29:00Z"
  }
}