Authenticated command execution via syndic target mismatch
Published Mar 29, 2022 · Updated May 5, 2025
Improper access control in Salt before 3002.8, 3003.4, and 3004.1 allows remote authenticated users to run allowed commands on restricted minions. On a Master-of-Masters, publisher_acl target checks consider only directly connected minions, treat a syndic-only target as valid, and pass it to the syndic for execution. The bypass requires a syndic topology and a publisher_acl user, and it removes the configured minion scope without expanding that user's permitted command set.
Summary
What happened
Improper access control in Salt before 3002.8, 3003.4, and 3004.1 allows remote authenticated users to run allowed commands on restricted minions. On a Master-of-Masters, publisher_acl target checks consider only directly connected minions, treat a syndic-only target as valid, and pass it to the syndic for execution. The bypass requires a syndic topology and a publisher_acl user, and it removes the configured minion scope without expanding that user's permitted command set.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-22941
- Published
- Mar 29, 2022
- Updated
- May 5, 2025
- Vendor
- Salt Project
- Product
- Salt
- Classifications
- CWE-732, T1210
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Mar 29, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 5, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=SaltStack Salt prior to 3002.8, 3003.4, 3004.1
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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