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SaltApplication · Saltstack

CVE-2023-20898

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-05
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3005.2 / 3006.2 or later.
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
Git Providers can read from the wrong environment because they get the same cache directory base name in Salt masters prior to 3005.2 or 3006.2. Anything that uses Git Providers with different environments can get garbage data or the wrong data, which can lead to wrongful data disclosure, wrongful executions, data corruption and/or crash.

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

In Salt masters prior to versions 3005.2 or 3006.2, Git Providers incorrectly use the same cache directory base name for different environments. This causes environment-specific data to collide in the shared cache, resulting in garbage data, wrongful data disclosure between environments, incorrect execution of jobs based on mixed state, and potential data corruption or crashes.

MitigationUpgrade Salt master to version 3005.2 or 3006.2 or later to ensure Git Providers use unique cache directory names per environment.

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:< 3005.2>= 3006.0, < 3006.2

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
High
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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. Check Salt master version
    Run `salt --version` or `salt-master --version` to get the installed version number
    Affected if Version is less than 3005.2 OR is 3006.0 or 3006.1 (within range >=3006.0, <3006.2)
  2. Verify Git Provider (gitfs) is in use
    Check the Salt master configuration files (typically /etc/salt/master or /etc/salt/master.d/) for `gitfs` or `gitfs_base` settings, or run `salt-call config.get gitfs`
    Affected if gitfs is configured and enabled as a fileserver backend
  3. Confirm multiple gitfs environments are configured
    Look for `gitfs_env` or `gitfs_branch` settings in the master config, or check if multiple branches/repos are mapped to different environments in the gitfs configuration
    Affected if More than one environment or branch is configured using gitfs
  4. Inspect gitfs cache directory
    Check the `gitfs_cache` or `gitfs_root` configuration options; default cache is typically under /var/cache/salt/master/gitfs/ and contains subdirectories named after environments
    Affected if Cache subdirectories use the same base name for different environments, causing collision

A user is affected if they run a Salt master version below 3005.2 or between 3006.0 and 3006.1 AND have gitfs (Git Provider) configured with multiple environments, where cache directories may collide.

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 3005.2 / 3006.2 or later
Fixed in 3005.23006.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Salt master to version 3005.2 or 3006.2 or later to ensure Git Providers use unique cache directory names per environment.

Recommended fix High confidence

Salt 3005.2 or 3006.2 (depending on your current major version branch)

  1. 1. Identify your current Salt version by running: salt --version
  2. 2. Determine which upgrade path to take: if running 3005.x, upgrade to 3005.2; if running 3006.x, upgrade to 3006.2
  3. 3. Backup your Salt configuration directory (typically /etc/salt) and pillar data before upgrading
  4. 4. Upgrade Salt using your package manager: for RHEL/CentOS use 'yum update salt-master' or for Debian/Ubuntu use 'apt-get install salt-master=3005.2' or 'salt-master=3006.2'
  5. 5. Restart the salt-master service after upgrade: systemctl restart salt-master
  6. 6. Verify the fix by checking Salt version matches the fixed release and testing Git provider functionality with multiple environments
Caveat Ensure any custom modules or configurations are compatible with the target minor version; review release notes for changes between your current version and the upgrade target

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

Fix this in Salt Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.

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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-2023-20898 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