CVE-2023-20898: Salt Salt Can Cause Git Providers Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-qvh6-3j7x-3hq7
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CVSS 4.2
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-20898 is a MODERATE (CVSS 4.2) salt can cause git providers vulnerability (General Security Weakness) affecting Salt libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves salt can cause git providers to get wrong data. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3005.2, 3006.2.

CVE-2023-20898 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-20898
GHSA Identifier GHSA-qvh6-3j7x-3hq7
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 4.2
CWE Classification General Security Weakness
Affected Product Salt
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 4.2

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:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N).

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

How to Fix CVE-2023-20898

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: 3005.2 
pip install salt>=3005.2
salt fixed: 3006.2 
pip install salt>=3006.2
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-2023-20898, 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 3005.2), 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 General Security Weakness. 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

Git Providers can read from the wrong environment because they get the same cache directory base name in Salt masters prior to 3005.2 or 3006.2. Anything that uses Git Providers with different environments can get garbage data or the wrong data, which can lead to wrongful data disclosure, wrongful executions, data corruption and/or crash.

CVE-2023-20898 Affected Salt Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3005.23006.2
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
salt
pypi/salt
PyPI
< 3005.2
3005.2
salt
pypi/salt
PyPI
≥ 3006.0rc1
< 3006.2
3006.2

References

NVD — CVE-2023-20898 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-20898
Salt Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/salt/PYSEC-2023-169.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/OMWJIHQZXHK6FH2E3IWAZCYIRI7FLVOL
Salt Security Information SECURITY
https://saltproject.io/security-announcements/2023-08-10-advisory

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-20898?
CVE-2023-20898 is a security vulnerability in Salt involving Salt can cause Git Providers to get wrong data under General Security Weakness.
Which Salt versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3005.2, 3006.2 across affected packages: salt.
What version fixes CVE-2023-20898?
Upgrading to 3005.2, 3006.2 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is salt affected?
Yes, salt is affected in releases prior to 3005.2, 3006.2. Upgrade your dependency to 3005.2, 3006.2 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-20898?
CVE-2023-20898 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.2 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-20898?
CVE-2023-20898 is classified under General Security Weakness.
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2023-20898?
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-qvh6-3j7x-3hq7",
  "modified" : "2025-02-13T19:11:44Z",
  "published" : "2023-09-05T12:30:16Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-20898" ],
  "summary" : "Salt can cause Git Providers to get wrong data",
  "details" : "Git Providers can read from the wrong environment because they get the same cache directory base name in Salt masters prior to 3005.2 or 3006.2. Anything that uses Git Providers with different environments can get garbage data or the wrong data, which can lead to wrongful data disclosure, wrongful executions, data corruption and/or crash.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "salt"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3005.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "salt"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3006.0rc1"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3006.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-20898"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/salt/PYSEC-2023-169.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/saltstack/salt"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/OMWJIHQZXHK6FH2E3IWAZCYIRI7FLVOL"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://saltproject.io/security-announcements/2023-08-10-advisory"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-09-06T19:50:13Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-09-05T11:15:33Z"
  }
}