CVE-2020-16846
SaltStack Salt Shell Injection Vulnerability
- Published
- Nov 6, 2020
- Updated
- Oct 21, 2025
- Assigning CNA
- mitre
- Evidence observed
- Nov 3, 2021
Primary CVSS
nvd · CVSS 3.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HHigh · next 30 days
- Percentile
- 99.9%
- Model date
- Oct 17, 2026
EPSS is a statistical estimate, not a certainty or a measure of impact. Combine it with CVSS, KEV status, exposure and your environment.
CISA Known Exploited
This CVE appears in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
Summary
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.
Sources
saltstack/CVE-2020-16846
SaltStack Command Injection Remote Code Execution (CVE-2020-16846)
Vulhub vulnerability labsDeclared conditions
- lab image version: vulhub/saltstack:3002(saltstack/CVE-2020-16846/docker-compose.yml:services.saltstack.image)
modules/exploits/linux/http/saltstack_salt_api_cmd_exec.rb
Metasploit Framework modulesDeclared conditions
- platform: Linux,Unix($.exploit_linux/http/saltstack_salt_api_cmd_exec.platform)
- verification: check_declared($.exploit_linux/http/saltstack_salt_api_cmd_exec.check)
http/cves/2020/CVE-2020-16846.yaml
Nuclei TemplatesDeclared conditions
- network: http($.protocol_keys)
- verification: dsl,status,word($.matchers[*].type)
Responsible use
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