CVE-2021-25315
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 · uneditedCWE - CWE-287: Improper Authentication vulnerability in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP 3; openSUSE Tumbleweed allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code via salt without the need to specify valid credentials. This issue affects: SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP 3 salt versions prior to 3002.2-3. openSUSE Tumbleweed salt version 3002.2-2.1 and prior versions. This issue affects: SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP 3 salt versions prior to 3002.2-3. openSUSE Tumbleweed salt version 3002.2-2.1 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 confidenceThis is an improper authentication vulnerability (CWE-287) in the Salt configuration management tool. Local attackers can execute arbitrary code via Salt without needing to specify valid credentials, effectively bypassing authentication mechanisms. The vulnerability affects Salt versions prior to 3002.2-3 on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP 3 and versions prior to 3002.2-2.1 on openSUSE Tumbleweed.
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< 3002.2CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify Salt is installedRun 'salt --version' or check your package manager (dpkg -l | grep salt, rpm -qa | grep salt)Affected if Salt is installed and responds to version query
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Determine the exact Salt versionExecute 'salt --version' to get the installed version number (format: e.g., 3002.1, 3002.2, etc.)Affected if Version shown is less than 3002.2
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Check if Salt master service is runningRun 'systemctl status salt-master' or 'service salt-master status'Affected if Salt master daemon is active and listening for connections
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Verify the Salt API or runner interfaceCheck if 'salt-api' is installed and running, or examine /etc/salt/master configuration for external_auth settingsAffected if External authentication is configured or salt-api service is enabled
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Confirm version against affected rangesCompare your installed version: for generic Salt < 3002.2 is affected; on SLES 15 SP3 versions < 3002.2-3 are affected; on openSUSE Tumbleweed versions < 3002.2-2.1 are affectedAffected if Installed version falls below the corresponding threshold for your distribution
You are affected if Salt is installed with a version below 3002.2 (or the SUSE-specific thresholds) and the Salt master service is running, allowing potential local authentication bypass.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 data3002.2
Upgrade Salt to version 3002.2-3 or later on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP 3, or to a version newer than 3002.2-2.1 on openSUSE Tumbleweed, to remediate the authentication bypass.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-25315 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-25315 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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