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CVE-2018-15751· NVD / CVE Program· CNA mitre

SaltStack Salt before 2017.7.8 and 2018.3.x before 2018.3.3 allow remote attackers to bypass authentication and execute arbitrary commands v

SaltStack Salt 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).

CriticalCVSS 9.8 · v3.0—No exploit Fix available
Published
Oct 24, 2018
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
5.2% · 92th percentile
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Report tools

JSON

Action score

41

Plan

Add it to your regular patch cycle.

CVSS
39 / 40 · 9.8 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
2 / 30 · 5.2%

Affected systems

VendorProduct
saltstacksalt

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • saltstack saltbefore 2017.7.8
  • saltstack salt2018.3.0 and later · before 2018.3.3

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:9saltbefore 2016.11.2+ds-1+deb9u52016.11.2+ds-1+deb9u5
openSUSE:Leap 15.1saltbefore 3000-lp151.5.21.13000-lp151.5.21.1
openSUSE:Leap 15.2saltbefore 3002.2-lp152.3.36.13002.2-lp152.3.36.1
openSUSE:Leap 15.3python-distrobefore 1.5.0-3.5.11.5.0-3.5.1
PyPIsaltfrom 2016.11.0 · before 2016.11.102016.11.10
PyPIsaltfrom 2017.7.0 · before 2017.7.82017.7.8
PyPIsaltfrom 2018.3.0 · before 2018.3.32018.3.3
PyPIsaltbefore 2017.7.82017.7.8
SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-ESPOSsaltbefore 3002.2-37.13002.2-37.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15saltbefore 2018.3.0-5.20.12018.3.0-5.20.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP1saltbefore 3000-6.37.13000-6.37.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP2python-distrobefore 1.5.0-3.5.11.5.0-3.5.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP3-CLIENT-TOOLSsaltbefore 2016.11.10-43.38.12016.11.10-43.38.1
SUSE:Manager Client Tools 12saltbefore 2018.3.0-46.44.12018.3.0-46.44.1
SUSE:Manager Server 3.2py26-compat-saltbefore 2016.11.10-6.15.12016.11.10-6.15.1

Same product

saltstack: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2020-16846An issue was discovered in SaltStack Salt through 3002.KEV
    99Now
  • CVE-2020-11651An issue was discovered in SaltStack Salt before 2019.2.4 and 3000 before 3000.2.KEV
    98Now
  • CVE-2020-11652An issue was discovered in SaltStack Salt before 2019.2.4 and 3000 before 3000.2.KEV
    82Now
  • CVE-2021-25282An issue was discovered in through SaltStack Salt before 3002.5.
    64This week
  • CVE-2021-3197An issue was discovered in SaltStack Salt before 3002.5.
    61This week
  • CVE-2021-25281An issue was discovered in through SaltStack Salt before 3002.5.
    61This week

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
debian:salt2016.11.2+ds-1+deb9u5 · Debian:9Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:python-distro1.5.0-3.5.1 · openSUSE:Leap 15.3Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:salt3000-lp151.5.21.1 · openSUSE:Leap 15.1Package registry (OSV)
PyPI:salt2016.11.10Package registry (OSV)
PyPI:salt2017.7.8Package registry (OSV)
PyPI:salt2018.3.3Package registry (OSV)
suse:py26-compat-salt2016.11.10-6.15.1 · SUSE:Manager Server 3.2Package registry (OSV)
suse:python-distro1.5.0-3.5.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP2Package registry (OSV)
suse:salt2016.11.10-43.38.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP3-CLIENT-TOOLSPackage registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-287 · Improper Authentication

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd-primary

Root cause

Authentication is added route by route instead of being enforced in one place. When a route added later bypasses the shared middleware, the session check never runs for it.

The bug in code

The whole CWE-287 class

A representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.

Vulnerable

ts
app.use("/admin", requireSession, adminRouter);
// Route added later skips the middlewareapp.post("/admin-api/config", updateConfig);

Fixed

ts
const admin = express.Router();admin.use(requireSession, requireRole("admin"));
admin.post("/config", updateConfig);app.use("/admin", admin);

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

Noroxi analysis

No Noroxi analysis for this record yet

We don't hand-write analysis for all 385,000+ vulnerabilities; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.

We use this product, ask for help

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

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References

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records