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ExploitedIn CISA KEVFix available

CVE-2020-16846

Exploitation confirmed. First attested on 2021-11-03 by CISA-ADP, CISA KEV, GCVE · kevintel, GCVE · shadowserver.

  • Published2020-11-06
  • Fixed in3002.1 · 3001.2 · 3000.4 · 3000.3 · 2019.2.6 · 2019.2.5
  • WeaknessCWE-78

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

Description

An issue was discovered in SaltStack Salt through 3002. Sending crafted web requests to the Salt API, with the SSH client enabled, can result in shell injection.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2020-11-0608:15CVE publishedNVD
  2. 2021-11-03Added to the CISA KEV catalogCISA KEV
  3. 2021-11-03Listed as exploited by GCVEGCVE
  4. 2021-11-03Exploitation first reportedCISA KEV
  5. 2025-02-0713:49SSVC exploitation set to activeCISA-ADP

Observed activity

isMalicious corpus · updated 2026-11-03 21:37 UTC
Indicators tagged with this CVE, per day0 indicators over 7 days
Block these indicators
  • Firewall list (EDL, text): https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2020-16846?format=txt
  • CSV export: https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2020-16846?format=csv
  • TAXII collection of exploited CVEs
  • The EDL and CSV take an API key on the Pro plan.

Versions per branch

OSV · NVD
Saltstack salt
BranchAffectedFixed in
3002.x≥ 3002, < 3002.13002.1
3001.x≥ 3001, < 3001.23001.2
3000.x≥ 3000.0, < 3000.43000.4
3000.x≥ 3000.0, < 3000.33000.3
3000.x≥ 3000, < 3000.33000.3
2019.2≥ 2019.2.0, < 2019.2.62019.2.6
2019.2≥ 2019.2.0, < 2019.2.52019.2.5
2018.x≥ 2018.2.0, < 2018.3.52018.3.5
2018.3≥ 2018.3.0rc1, < 2018.3.52018.3.5
2017.7≥ 2017.7.5, < 2017.7.82017.7.8
2017.x≥ 2017.5.0, < 2017.7.82017.7.8
2017.x≥ 2017.5.0, < 2017.7.42017.7.4
Debian debian linux
BranchAffectedFixed in
9.0= 9.0no fix published
10.0= 10.0no fix published
Fedoraproject fedora
BranchAffectedFixed in
31.x= 31no fix published

1 more product in the sources.

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Distribution builds and vendor advisories

Packages from OSV.dev and products from the vendors' CSAF advisories.

version not verifiedVersions not verified: read as OSV.dev and the vendors publish them, not checked against each vendor's release list.

Packages

  • bind-formulaSUSE:Manager Server Module 4.1all versions · fixed in 0.1.1603299886.60e4bcf-3.3.2
  • cobblerSUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4-CLIENT-TOOLSall versions · fixed in 2.2.2-0.68.12.1
  • cobblerSUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP3-CLIENT-TOOLSall versions · fixed in 2.2.2-0.68.12.1
  • grafana-formulaSUSE:Manager Server Module 4.1all versions · fixed in 0.3.0-3.3.2
  • mgr-daemonSUSE:Manager Proxy Module 4.1all versions · fixed in 4.1.3-2.6.3
  • mgr-daemonSUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4-CLIENT-TOOLSall versions · fixed in 4.1.3-5.20.1
  • mgr-daemonSUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP3-CLIENT-TOOLSall versions · fixed in 4.1.3-5.20.1
  • prometheus-exporters-formulaSUSE:Manager Server Module 4.1all versions · fixed in 0.8.0-3.16.2

69 more package ranges on OSV.dev

Vendor advisories

  • CVE-2020-16846 Red Hat Product Security2 known affected

    salt: sending crafted web requests to the Salt API, with the SSH client enabled, can result in shell injection

    salt as a component of Red Hat Ceph Storage 2 · salt-minion as a component of Red Hat Ceph Storage 2

Full record on NVD

Fix

  1. Update Saltstack salt to 3002.1 · 3001.2 · 3000.4 · 3000.3 · 2019.2.6 · 2019.2.5 · 2018.3.5 · 2017.7.8
  2. CISA’s required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.due 2022-05-03
  3. Workaround from the vendor Red Hat Product Security CVE-2020-16846 · 2 productsRed Hat has investigated whether a possible mitigation exists for this issue, and has not been able to identify a practical example. Please update as soon as possible.
  4. No fix planned, says the vendor Red Hat Product Security CVE-2020-16846 · 2 productsWill not fix

Advisories and patches

Detection

read 2026-11-03 22:42 UTC
Nuclei template
available
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
no entry
Exploit-DB
Proof-of-concept repositories
2 repositories, unverifiedzomy22/CVE-2020-16846-Saltstack-Salt-APIhamza-boudouche/projet-secu
PoC-in-GitHub
Metasploit modules
1 moduleexploit/linux/http/saltstack_salt_api_cmd_execrank: excellentModule metadata: Metasploit Framework, © Rapid7, Inc., BSD-3-Clause.
Metasploit Framework

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability

Date Added
2021-11-03
Patch Due Date
2022-05-03
Ransomware Use
Unknown
Required Action
Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Sources

Identifiers

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published
2020-11-06
Last Modified
2026-06-17
NVD status
Analyzed
GitHub Advisory
GHSA-qr38-h96j-2j3w

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-16846?

An issue was discovered in SaltStack Salt through 3002. Sending crafted web requests to the Salt API, with the SSH client enabled, can result in shell injection.

Is CVE-2020-16846 actively exploited?

Yes. CVE-2020-16846 is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, meaning it has been confirmed as actively exploited in the wild. CISA requires federal agencies to patch by 2022-05-03.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2020-16846?

CVE-2020-16846 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

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Sources for this record