{"id":"CVE-2020-11651","published":"2020-04-30T17:15:12Z","modified":"2026-06-17T02:50:33Z","title":"SaltStack Salt Authentication Bypass Vulnerability","vendor":"SaltStack","product":"Salt","tier":"core","eol":null,"description":{"text":"An issue was discovered in SaltStack Salt before 2019.2.4 and 3000 before 3000.2. The salt-master process ClearFuncs class does not properly validate method calls. This allows a remote user to access some methods without authentication. These methods can be used to retrieve user tokens from the salt master and/or run arbitrary commands on salt minions.","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"summary":{"text":"A flaw in the ClearFuncs class of the salt-master process in SaltStack Salt does not properly validate method calls, so some methods can be reached without authentication. A remote, unauthenticated attacker with network access to the salt master can exploit it, with no user interaction or special configuration required, to retrieve user tokens from the salt master and/or run arbitrary commands on salt minions.","provenance":"ai","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","generatedAt":"2026-10-23T07:09:36Z"},"cvss":{"score":9.8,"severity":"CRITICAL","version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"epss":{"score":0.96614,"percentile":0.99883,"date":"2026-10-31","provenance":"source"},"kev":{"dateAdded":"2021-11-03","dueDate":"2022-05-03","ransomware":false,"requiredAction":"Apply updates per vendor instructions.","notes":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-11651","provenance":"source"},"vulncheckKev":{"dateAdded":"2020-07-22","exploitedFirstSeen":"2020-07-22","ransomware":false,"evidence":[{"url":"https://redcanary.com/blog/kinsing-malware-citrix-saltstack/","date":"2020-07-22"},{"url":"https://www.zscaler.com/blogs/security-research/dreambus-botnet-technical-analysis","date":"2021-01-22"},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json","date":"2021-11-03"},{"url":"https://1665891.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/1665891/Threat%20reports/AquaSecurity_Kinsing_Demystified_Technical_Guide.pdf","date":"2024-05-10"},{"url":"https://bi.zone/upload/for_download/Threat_Zone_2025_BI.ZONE_Research_rus.pdf","date":"2025-04-08"}],"evidenceTotal":5,"provenance":"source"},"exploited":true,"otx":null,"cwes":[],"references":[{"url":"http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-04/msg00047.html","tags":["Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-07/msg00070.html","tags":["Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/157560/Saltstack-3000.1-Remote-Code-Execution.html","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"]},{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/157678/SaltStack-Salt-Master-Minion-Unauthenticated-Remote-Code-Execution.html","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"]},{"url":"http://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2020-0009.html","tags":["Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://docs.saltstack.com/en/latest/topics/releases/2019.2.4.html","tags":["Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://github.com/saltstack/salt/blob/v3000.2_docs/doc/topics/releases/3000.2.rst","tags":["Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/05/msg00027.html","tags":["Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-salt-2vx545AG","tags":["Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://usn.ubuntu.com/4459-1/","tags":["Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4676","tags":["Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-04/msg00047.html","tags":["Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-07/msg00070.html","tags":["Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/157560/Saltstack-3000.1-Remote-Code-Execution.html","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"]},{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/157678/SaltStack-Salt-Master-Minion-Unauthenticated-Remote-Code-Execution.html","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"]},{"url":"http://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2020-0009.html","tags":["Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://docs.saltstack.com/en/latest/topics/releases/2019.2.4.html","tags":["Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://github.com/saltstack/salt/blob/v3000.2_docs/doc/topics/releases/3000.2.rst","tags":["Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/05/msg00027.html","tags":["Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-salt-2vx545AG","tags":["Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://usn.ubuntu.com/4459-1/","tags":["Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4676","tags":["Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2020-11651","tags":["US Government Resource"]}],"techniques":[{"id":"T1059","name":"Command and Scripting Interpreter","tactics":["execution"],"provenance":"source","basis":"ctid-cve","bases":["ctid-cve","ai-mapping"],"basisDetail":"CTID attack_to_cve (Phase 1); claude-haiku-5-5: arbitrary command execution on minions","mappingType":"uncategorized","evidence":[{"from":"description","quote":"run arbitrary commands on salt minions","start":315,"end":353}],"confidence":"medium","confidenceNote":"AI-mapped from the description (quote-validated, not expert-reviewed)"},{"id":"T1068","name":"Exploitation for Privilege Escalation","tactics":["privilege-escalation"],"provenance":"source","basis":"ctid-cve","bases":["ctid-cve"],"basisDetail":"CTID attack_to_cve (Phase 1)","mappingType":"uncategorized","evidence":[],"confidence":"low","confidenceNote":"CTID attack_to_cve Phase 1 \"Uncategorized\" mapping (not staged by impact)"},{"id":"T1528","name":"Steal Application Access Token","tactics":["credential-access"],"provenance":"source","basis":"ctid-cve","bases":["ctid-cve"],"basisDetail":"CTID attack_to_cve (Phase 1)","mappingType":"uncategorized","evidence":[],"confidence":"low","confidenceNote":"CTID attack_to_cve Phase 1 \"Uncategorized\" mapping (not staged by impact)"},{"id":"T1190","name":"Exploit Public-Facing Application","tactics":["initial-access"],"provenance":"ai","basis":"ai-mapping","bases":["ai-mapping"],"basisDetail":"claude-haiku-5-5: unauthenticated remote access to public-facing service","mappingType":"exploitation_technique","evidence":[{"from":"description","quote":"allows a remote user to access some methods without authentication","start":169,"end":235}],"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","confidence":"medium","confidenceNote":"AI-mapped from the description (quote-validated, not expert-reviewed)"}],"reports":[],"affected":[{"ecosystem":"PyPI","package":"salt","vulnerableRanges":["<2019.2.4",">=3000, <3000.2"],"patched":["2019.2.4","3000.2"],"from":["GHSA-pjhf-vpx3-33r3","PYSEC-2020-102"],"provenance":"source"}],"advisories":[{"id":"GHSA-pjhf-vpx3-33r3","url":"https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-pjhf-vpx3-33r3","severity":"CRITICAL","ecosystem":"PyPI","package":"salt","vulnerableRanges":["<2019.2.4"],"patched":["2019.2.4"],"provenance":"source","from":"GHSA"},{"id":"GHSA-pjhf-vpx3-33r3","url":"https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-pjhf-vpx3-33r3","severity":"CRITICAL","ecosystem":"PyPI","package":"salt","vulnerableRanges":[">=3000, <3000.2"],"patched":["3000.2"],"provenance":"source","from":"GHSA"}],"euvd":{"id":"EUVD-2020-0171","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2020-0171","exploited":true,"exploitedSince":"2021-11-03","provenance":"source"},"exploits":[{"id":48421,"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/48421","title":"Saltstack 3000.1 - Remote Code Execution","type":"remote","platform":"multiple","date":"2020-05-05","verified":false,"provenance":"source"}],"exploitSources":{"exploitdb":{"count":1,"earliest":"2020-05-05"},"pocGithub":{"count":14,"skipped":1,"earliest":"2020-05-01","earliestUrl":"https://github.com/chef-cft/salt-vulnerabilities","repos":[{"name":"jasperla/CVE-2020-11651-poc","url":"https://github.com/jasperla/CVE-2020-11651-poc","stars":123,"created":"2020-05-04"},{"name":"rossengeorgiev/salt-security-backports","url":"https://github.com/rossengeorgiev/salt-security-backports","stars":109,"created":"2020-05-01"},{"name":"dozernz/cve-2020-11651","url":"https://github.com/dozernz/cve-2020-11651","stars":106,"created":"2020-05-04"},{"name":"0xc0d/CVE-2020-11651","url":"https://github.com/0xc0d/CVE-2020-11651","stars":40,"created":"2020-05-04"},{"name":"ssrsec/CVE-2020-11651-CVE-2020-11652-EXP","url":"https://github.com/ssrsec/CVE-2020-11651-CVE-2020-11652-EXP","stars":24,"created":"2020-05-07"}]},"metasploit":[{"name":"SaltStack Salt Master Server Root Key Disclosure","module":"auxiliary/gather/saltstack_salt_root_key","type":"auxiliary","disclosureDate":"2020-04-30","url":"https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/auxiliary/gather/saltstack_salt_root_key.rb"},{"name":"SaltStack Salt Master/Minion Unauthenticated RCE","module":"exploit/linux/misc/saltstack_salt_unauth_rce","type":"exploit","disclosureDate":"2020-04-30","url":"https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/linux/misc/saltstack_salt_unauth_rce.rb"}],"first":{"date":"2020-04-30","source":"Metasploit","url":"https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/auxiliary/gather/saltstack_salt_root_key.rb"},"provenance":"source"},"exploitRefs":["http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/157560/Saltstack-3000.1-Remote-Code-Execution.html","http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/157678/SaltStack-Salt-Master-Minion-Unauthenticated-Remote-Code-Execution.html"],"flow":[{"stage":"exploitation","techniques":["T1190"],"provenance":"ai"},{"stage":"related","techniques":["T1059"],"provenance":"source"},{"stage":"related","techniques":["T1068","T1528"],"provenance":"source","lowConfidence":true}],"timeline":[{"date":"2020-04-30","kind":"published","label":"Published (NVD)","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-11651","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2020-04-30","kind":"exploit-public","label":"First public exploit: Metasploit; later: PoC-in-GitHub 2020-05-01, Exploit-DB 2020-05-05","url":"https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/auxiliary/gather/saltstack_salt_root_key.rb","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2020-07-22","kind":"exploited-reported","label":"Exploitation first reported (VulnCheck KEV evidence)","url":"https://redcanary.com/blog/kinsing-malware-citrix-saltstack/","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2021-11-03","kind":"kev","label":"Added to CISA KEV","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2021-11-03","kind":"euvd-exploited","label":"ENISA EUVD: exploited","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2020-0171","provenance":"source"}],"speed":{"daysToPublicExploit":0,"firstExploitFrom":"Metasploit","daysToKev":552},"priority":{"score":66.8,"factors":[{"name":"In a KEV catalog","points":35.0,"detail":"listed in CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV"},{"name":"Recent KEV listing","points":0.0,"detail":"added 2293 days ago"},{"name":"Known ransomware use","points":0.0,"detail":"not known"},{"name":"EPSS percentile","points":19.98,"detail":"percentile 0.9988"},{"name":"Named in threat reports","points":0.0,"detail":"0 reports"},{"name":"Public exploit code","points":5.0,"detail":"2 NVD references tagged Exploit; 1 Exploit-DB entry; 14 PoC-in-GitHub repos; 2 Metasploit modules"},{"name":"Mentioned in OTX pulses","points":0.0,"detail":"0 pulses"},{"name":"CVSS severity","points":6.86,"detail":"base score 9.8"},{"name":"End-of-life product","points":0.0,"detail":"supported or unknown"}]},"lineage":{"packageHistory":[{"cve":"CVE-2018-15751","published":"2018-10-24","fixed":"2018.3.3","kev":false},{"cve":"CVE-2019-1010259","published":"2019-07-18","fixed":"2018.3.4","kev":false},{"cve":"CVE-2019-17361","published":"2020-01-17","fixed":"2019.2.3","kev":false,"link":{"from":"CVE-2019-17361","to":"CVE-2020-11651","relation":"successor","confidence":"low","kind":"sequence","evidence":[{"kind":"version-step","provenance":"source","package":"PyPI:salt","fromFixed":"2019.2.3","toFixed":"2019.2.4","daysApart":104}]}},{"cve":"CVE-2020-11651","published":"2020-04-30","fixed":"3000.2","kev":true},{"cve":"CVE-2020-11652","published":"2020-04-30","fixed":"3000.2","kev":true},{"cve":"CVE-2020-16846","published":"2020-11-06","fixed":"3002.1","kev":true},{"cve":"CVE-2020-17490","published":"2020-11-06","fixed":"3002.1","kev":false}],"package":"PyPI:salt"}}