#VU50981 OS Command Injection in Salt - CVE-2021-3197

Vulnerability identifier: #VU50981

Vulnerability risk: High

CVSSv4.0: 8.1 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Amber]

CVE-ID: CVE-2021-3197

CWE-ID: CWE-78

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
Salt
Web applications / Remote management & hosting panels

Vendor: SaltStack

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote user to execute arbitrary shell commands on the target system.

The vulnerability exists due to improper input validation within the salt-api ssh client. A remote attacker can include the ProxyCommand in an argument, or via ssh_options provided in an API request and execute arbitrary commands on the system.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Salt: 3000 - 3000.7, 3001 - 3001.5, 3002 - 3002.4

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External links
https://github.com/saltstack/salt/releases
https://saltproject.io/security_announcements/active-saltstack-cve-release-2021-feb-25/

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.