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CVE-2020-16846
CISA KEV
high
[KEV] OS Command Injection in Saltstack salt (CVE-2020-16846)
Summary
OS command injection in Saltstack salt (CVE-2020-16846). Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure. Listed in CISA KEV — actively exploited. Mitigation: upgrade to `2015.8.10, 2015.8.13, 2016.3.4, 2016.3.6, 2016.3.8, 2016.11.3, 2016.11.6, 2016.11.10, 2017.7.4, 2017.7.8, 2018.3.5, 2019.2.5, 3000.3` or later.
AI summary snake-internal / snake-material-v2
A vulnerability tracked as **CVE-2020-16846** has been found in Saltstack salt.
Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure. CVSS score: ?/10.
Note: CISA has officially confirmed this is **actively exploited in the wild**. Treat it with elevated urgency.
What to do: upgrade Saltstack salt to **2015.8.10, 2015.8.13, 2016.3.4, 2016.3.6, 2016.3.8, 2016.11.3, 2016.11.6, 2016.11.10, 2017.7.4, 2017.7.8, 2018.3.5, 2019.2.5, 3000.3** or later.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "Saltstack salt CVE-2020-16846" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2020-16846 (Saltstack salt) — CWE-78 /
Patched: `2015.8.10, 2015.8.13, 2016.3.4, 2016.3.6, 2016.3.8, 2016.11.3, 2016.11.6, 2016.11.10, 2017.7.4, 2017.7.8, 2018.3.5, 2019.2.5, 3000.3` — apply immediately
Listed in CISA KEV — actively exploited, treat as top priority.
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.
❓ What is the problem
**OS command injection** (CWE-78) exists in Saltstack salt.
📍 Affected scope
Saltstack salt — .
🔥 Severity
Severity: High. Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure **Listed in CISA KEV** — actively exploited in the wild, treat as top priority.
🔧 How to fix
Update to **2015.8.10, 2015.8.13, 2016.3.4, 2016.3.6, 2016.3.8, 2016.11.3, 2016.11.6, 2016.11.10, 2017.7.4, 2017.7.8, 2018.3.5, 2019.2.5, 3000.3**.
🛡️ Workaround
Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.
🔍 Detection
Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Run `grep -r 'salt' .` against your dependency files (package-lock.json, requirements.txt, go.sum) to find affected services.
Response Actions (7 steps)
Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order
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1Identify exposure identify
grep -r 'salt' . | grep -v node_modulesリポジトリと本番環境の依存ファイル (package-lock.json / requirements.txt / go.sum / Gemfile.lock 等) で `salt` を grep し、稼働しているサービス・バージョンを把握する。
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4Consider incident declaration escalate
Notify SOC / on-callCISA KEV登録済 = 実環境で悪用が観測されている。Step 3 で兆候があればインシデント対応宣言、無くてもパッチ適用までWAF強化を最優先で。
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6Apply patch patch
Upgrade salt to 2015.8.10, 2015.8.13, 2016.3.4, 2016.3.6, 2016.3.8, 2016.11.3, 2016.11.6, 2016.11.10, 2017.7.4, 2017.7.8, 2018.3.5, 2019.2.5, 3000.3ステージング環境で 2015.8.10, 2015.8.13, 2016.3.4, 2016.3.6, 2016.3.8, 2016.11.3, 2016.11.6, 2016.11.10, 2017.7.4, 2017.7.8, 2018.3.5, 2019.2.5, 3000.3 に上げて回帰テスト → 本番反映。回帰テストはアプリの主要ハッピーパスと、Step 3 で見つけた異常検知の続報チェックを含めること。
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7Post-deployment verification verify
Confirm patched version is live in productionパッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番では Step 3 と同じログクエリでアラート再発が無いか継続監視。
Affected packages
PyPI
salt
[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"0"},{"fixed":"2015.8.10"},{"introduced":"2015.8.11"},{"fixed":"2015.8.13"},{"introduced":"2016.3.0"},{"fixed":"2016.3.4"},{"introduced":"2016.3.5"},{"fixed":"2016.3.6"},{"introduced":"2016.3.7"},{"fixed":"2016.3.8"},{"introduced":"2016.11.0"},{"fixed":"2016.11.3"},{"introduced":"2016.11.4"},{"fixed":"2016.11.6"},{"introduced":"2016.11.7"},{"fixed":"2016.11.10"},{"introduced":"2017.7.0"},{"fixed":"2017.7.4"},{"introduced":"2017.7.5"},{"fixed":"2017.7.8"},{"introduced":"2018.3.0rc1"},{"fixed":"2018.3.5"},{"introduced":"2019.2.0"},{"fixed":"2019.2.5"},{"introduced":"3000"},{"fixed":"3000.3"}]}]
References
- advisory NVD
- advisory https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202011-13
- advisory https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-20-1380/
- advisory https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-20-1379/
- advisory https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-20-1383/
- advisory https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-20-1381/
- advisory https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-20-1382/
- advisory https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4837
- advisory https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-qr38-h96j-2j3w
- web https://github.com/saltstack/salt/releases
- web https://www.saltstack.com/blog/on-november-3-2020-saltstack-publicly-disclosed-three-new-cves/
- web https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected]/message/TPOGB2F6XUAIGFDTOCQDNB2VIXFXHWMA/
- web http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-11/msg00029.html
- web http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/160039/SaltStack-Salt-REST-API-Arbitrary-Command-Execution.html
- web https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/12/msg00007.html