CVE-2021-25315Network attack vector

Unauthenticated code execution via dropped eauth parameters

Published Mar 3, 2021 · Updated Sep 16, 2024

Improper authentication in Salt on SLES 15 SP3 and openSUSE Tumbleweed allows remote attackers to execute code through salt-api. The SUSE async-batch backport drops eauth and related request parameters, so BatchAsync processes jobs as the salt service account and accepts any username and password. A network-reachable salt-api async-batch endpoint is sufficient; accepted jobs execute with the service account's authority and can compromise managed systems.

CVSS severity9.8
Critical
EPSS probability2.33%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Improper authentication in Salt on SLES 15 SP3 and openSUSE Tumbleweed allows remote attackers to execute code through salt-api. The SUSE async-batch backport drops eauth and related request parameters, so BatchAsync processes jobs as the salt service account and accepts any username and password. A network-reachable salt-api async-batch endpoint is sufficient; accepted jobs execute with the service account's authority and can compromise managed systems.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-25315
Published
Mar 3, 2021
Updated
Sep 16, 2024
Vendor
OpenSUSE
Product
openSUSE Tumbleweed
Classifications
CWE-287, T1190
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 3, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 16, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=salt <=3002.2-2.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

OpenSUSE · openSUSE Tumbleweedversion=salt <=3002.2-2.1
SUSE · SUSE Linux Enterprise Serverversion=salt <3002.2-3

Published CVSS scores

4.6NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
9.8SUSECVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-287Improper Authentication
T1190Exploitation of Public-Facing Application

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo