CVE-2020-28972: Salt Improper Certificate Validation Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-w589-r335-4f55
Share
CVSS 5.9
CWE-295
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-28972 is a HIGH (CVSS 5.9) improper certificate validation vulnerability (CWE-295: Improper Certificate Validation) affecting Salt libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves saltstack salt improper certificate validation. 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-2020-28972 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-28972
GHSA Identifier GHSA-w589-r335-4f55
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.9
CWE Classification CWE-295: Improper Certificate Validation
Affected Product Salt
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.9

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2020-28972

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-2020-28972, 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-295: Improper Certificate Validation, where the product does not validate, or incorrectly validates, a certificate. 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

In SaltStack Salt before 3002.5, authentication to VMware vcenter, vsphere, and esxi servers (in the `vmware.py` files) does not always validate the SSL/TLS certificate.

CVE-2020-28972 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-2020-28972 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-28972
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 Release RELEASE
https://github.com/saltstack/salt/blob/8f9405cf8e6f7d7776d5000841c886dec6d96250/doc/topics/releases/3002.3.rst#L14
Salt Release RELEASE
https://github.com/saltstack/salt/blob/8f9405cf8e6f7d7776d5000841c886dec6d96250/doc/topics/releases/3001.5.rst#L14
Salt Release RELEASE
https://github.com/saltstack/salt/blob/8f9405cf8e6f7d7776d5000841c886dec6d96250/doc/topics/releases/3000.7.rst#L14
Salt Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/saltstack/salt/blob/8f9405cf8e6f7d7776d5000841c886dec6d96250/CHANGELOG.md?plain=1#L2358
Salt Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/saltstack/salt
Salt Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/salt/PYSEC-2021-74.yaml

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-28972?
CVE-2020-28972 is a security vulnerability in Salt involving SaltStack Salt Improper Certificate Validation under CWE-295: Improper Certificate Validation.
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-2020-28972?
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-2020-28972?
CVE-2020-28972 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.9 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-28972?
CVE-2020-28972 is classified under CWE-295: Improper Certificate Validation (The product does not validate, or incorrectly validates, a certificate.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2020-28972?
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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}