dbcve.org
SaltApplication · Saltstack

CVE-2018-15751

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-10-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2017.7.8 / 2018.3.3 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
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).

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Authentication bypass vulnerability in SaltStack Salt's salt-api (netapi) component allows remote unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary commands by bypassing authentication mechanisms. The flaw affects versions before 2017.7.8 and 2018.3.x before 2018.3.3.

MitigationUpgrade SaltStack Salt to version 2017.7.8, 2018.3.3, or later to patch the authentication bypass in salt-api. Until patched, avoid exposing salt-api to untrusted networks.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
SaltApplication
Affected:< 2017.7.8>= 2018.3.0, < 2018.3.3

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify salt-api netapi is enabled
    Inspect Salt master configuration files (typically /etc/salt/master or /etc/salt/master.d/*.conf) for the 'netapi' or 'rest_cherrypy' / 'rest_tornado' module enablement under the 'external_auth' or 'netapi' section.
    Affected if The netapi module (such as rest_cherrypy or rest_tornado) is enabled in the Salt master configuration and the salt-api service is running.
  2. Check installed Salt version
    Run 'salt --version' or 'salt-master --version' on the Salt master to retrieve the exact version number.
    Affected if The installed version is any version before 2017.7.8, or any version from 2018.3.0 through 2018.3.2.
  3. Identify the netapi listener port
    Review the Salt master configuration for the 'port' directive under the netapi/rest_cherrypy or netapi/rest_tornado section to determine which port salt-api is listening on (default ports are 8000 for rest_cherrypy and 8001 for rest_tornado).
    Affected if A netapi listener port is configured and exposed.
  4. Assess network exposure of salt-api
    Verify whether the netapi listener port is bound to an interface accessible from untrusted networks, or check firewall rules and network ACLs controlling access to the salt-api port.
    Affected if The salt-api port is accessible from untrusted or external network segments.

You are affected if salt-api (netapi) is enabled and your installed Salt version falls within < 2017.7.8 or >= 2018.3.0 to < 2018.3.3, and the service is network-accessible.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2017.7.8 / 2018.3.3 or later
Fixed in 2017.7.82018.3.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade SaltStack Salt to version 2017.7.8, 2018.3.3, or later to patch the authentication bypass in salt-api. Until patched, avoid exposing salt-api to untrusted networks.

Recommended fix High confidence

2017.7.8 or later for 2017.x branch; 2018.3.3 or later for 2018.3.x branch

  1. 1. Identify current SaltStack Salt version by running: salt --version
  2. 2. For systems running Salt 2017.7.x: Upgrade to version 2017.7.8 or later (e.g., pip install --upgrade salt==2017.7.8 or use OS package manager)
  3. 3. For systems running Salt 2018.3.x: Upgrade to version 2018.3.3 or later (e.g., pip install --upgrade salt==2018.3.3 or use OS package manager)
  4. 4. After upgrading, restart all Salt services (salt-master, salt-minion, salt-api) to apply changes
  5. 5. Verify the upgrade was successful by running: salt --version
  6. 6. If using salt-api, ensure the netapi module is properly secured and authentication is functioning as expected

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Salt Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-15751 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-15751 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data