dbcve.org
Linux Enterprise ServerOperating system · Suse

CVE-2019-18897

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-03-02
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
A UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following vulnerability in the packaging of salt of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15; openSUSE Factory allows local attackers to escalate privileges from user salt to root. This issue affects: SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 salt-master version 2019.2.0-46.83.1 and prior versions. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 salt-master version 2019.2.0-6.21.1 and prior versions. openSUSE Factory salt-master version 2019.2.2-3.1 and prior versions.

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

A symlink following vulnerability in salt-master packaging on SUSE systems allows a local user 'salt' to escalate privileges to root by exploiting symbolic link handling during package operations.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied patches or upgrade salt-master to versions beyond those affected (2019.2.0-46.83.2+ for SLES 12, 2019.2.0-6.21.2+ for SLES 15, 2019.2.2-3.2+ for openSUSE Factory).

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
Linux Enterprise ServerOperating system
Affected:= 12= 15
LeapOperating system
Affected:= 15.1

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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. Identify the SUSE distribution and version
    Check the installed OS by examining /etc/os-release or running 'cat /etc/SuSE-release' or 'hostnamectl'
    Affected if The system is not SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12/15 or openSUSE Leap 15.1 (the vulnerability only affects these specific products and versions)
  2. Verify salt-master package is installed
    Run 'rpm -qa | grep salt-master' or 'zypper se salt-master' to check if the salt-master package is present on the system
    Affected if salt-master is not installed (the vulnerability only applies when salt-master is present)
  3. Determine the installed salt-master version
    Run 'rpm -q salt-master' or 'zypper info salt-master' to retrieve the exact version number of the installed salt-master package
    Affected if The installed version falls within the affected range and matches the vulnerable versions for the detected SUSE product (compare your version against known vulnerable versions: pre-patch versions for SLES 12, SLES 15, and openSUSE Leap 15.1)
  4. Check if the salt system user exists
    Run 'id salt' or 'grep ^salt /etc/passwd' to verify whether the 'salt' user account exists on the system
    Affected if The 'salt' user does not exist (the privilege escalation specifically requires the 'salt' local user to be present)
  5. Verify package management operation context
    Examine any recent package operations logs in /var/log/zypp or check for scheduled salt-master package operations that could involve symlink manipulation
    Affected if The system has recent or scheduled package operations involving salt-master that could trigger symlink following

The system is affected if it runs SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12/15 or openSUSE Leap 15.1, has salt-master installed with a version matching the vulnerable range, and contains the 'salt' local user account.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor-supplied patches or upgrade salt-master to versions beyond those affected (2019.2.0-46.83.2+ for SLES 12, 2019.2.0-6.21.2+ for SLES 15, 2019.2.2-3.2+ for openSUSE Factory).

Fix this in Linux Enterprise Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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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-2019-18897 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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