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Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian

CVE-2020-17490

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-11-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2015.8.10 / 2015.8.13 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
The TLS module within SaltStack Salt through 3002 creates certificates with weak file permissions.

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 · moderate confidence

The TLS module in SaltStack Salt (versions through 3002) creates TLS certificates with overly permissive file permissions, potentially allowing unauthorized local users to read private key material.

MitigationUpgrade SaltStack Salt to a version newer than 3002, or manually restrict permissions on certificate files created by the TLS module using chmod/chown to limit access to authorized users or processes only.

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
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 9.0= 10.0
SaltApplication
Affected:< 2015.8.10>= 2015.8.11, < 2015.8.13>= 2016.3.0, < 2016.3.4>= 2016.3.5, < 2016.3.6>= 2016.3.7, < 2016.3.8>= 2016.11.0, < 2016.11.3>= 2016.11.4, < 2016.11.6>= 2016.11.7, < 2016.11.10>= 2017.5.0, < 2017.7.4>= 2017.7.5, < 2017.7.8>= 2018.2.0, < 2018.3.5>= 2019.2.0, < 2019.2.5

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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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. Confirm Salt is installed and get version
    Run 'salt --version' or 'salt-master --version' to identify the installed Salt version
    Affected if The installed version falls within the affected ranges: < 2015.8.10, >= 2015.8.11 and < 2015.8.13, >= 2016.3.0 and < 2016.3.4, >= 2016.3.5 and < 2016.3.6, >= 2016.3.7 and < 2016.3.8, >= 2016.11.0 and < 2016.11.3, >= 2016.11.4 and < 2016.11.6, >= 2016.11.7 and < 2016.11.10, >= 2017.5.0 and < 2017.7.4
  2. Locate Salt TLS module certificate storage
    Search for Salt-generated certificate files, typically under /etc/salt/pki/ or custom paths configured in /etc/salt/master under 'pki_dir', or in paths specified by the TLS module (such as /var/cache/salt/master/thumbnails or custom cert paths). Check directories like /etc/salt/pki/master/ and any user-defined certificate directories.
    Affected if TLS certificates or private keys exist in Salt-managed directories.
  3. Inspect file permissions on private key files
    Run 'find /etc/salt -name "*.key" -o -name "*.pem" | xargs ls -la' or specifically check permissions on private key files using 'ls -la <cert_directory>/*key*'. Look for files with permissions 0644, 0664, or any mode that grants read access to 'others' (last digit 4) or group (second-to-last digit 4 or higher).
    Affected if Any private key files (.key, .pem) created by Salt's TLS module are readable by unauthorized users (permissions include 'r--r--r--' or 'rw-r--r--', or grant group read).

Your environment is affected if Salt is installed with a vulnerable version AND the Salt TLS module has been used to generate certificates whose private key files have overly permissive permissions allowing unauthorized local user access.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2015.8.10 / 2015.8.13 / 2016.3.4 or later
Fixed in 2015.8.102015.8.132016.3.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade SaltStack Salt to a version newer than 3002, or manually restrict permissions on certificate files created by the TLS module using chmod/chown to limit access to authorized users or processes only.

Fix this in Debian Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.

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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-2020-17490 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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