CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2022-22936NVD status: Modified

SaltStack Salt: Authentication Bypass by Capture-replay

CVE-2022-22936 is a high-severity authentication bypass by capture-replay vulnerability in SaltStack Salt, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8 out of 10. It can be exploited from the same local network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. Affected SaltStack Salt versions: SaltStack Salt prior to 3002.8, 3003.4, 3004.1. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.82% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 58% of scored CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Update Salt to 3002.8 or 3003.4 or 3004.1, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
SaltStack SaltSaltStack SaltSaltStack Salt prior to 3002.8, 3003.4, 3004.1Not stated
SaltstackSalt3002 up to, but not including, 3002.8; 3003 up to, but not including, 3003.4; 3004 up to, but not including, 3004.13002.8, 3003.4, 3004.1

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
AdjacentThe attacker must be on the same local network segment.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
NoneNo account or login is needed.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.

Scoring systemScoreSeverityScored by
CVSS 3.18.8HighNVD
CVSS 3.18.8HighCISA (ADP)
CVSS 2.05.4MediumNVD

Official description

An issue was discovered in SaltStack Salt in versions before 3002.8, 3003.4, 3004.1. Job publishes and file server replies are susceptible to replay attacks, which can result in an attacker replaying job publishes causing minions to run old jobs. File server replies can also be re-played. A sufficient craft attacker could gain root access on minion under certain scenarios.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Authentication Bypass by Capture-replay

A capture-replay flaw exists when the design of the product makes it possible for a malicious user to sniff network traffic and bypass authentication by replaying it to the server in question to the same effect as the original message (or with minor changes).

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Utilize some sequence or time stamping functionality along with a checksum which takes this into account in order to ensure that messages can be parsed only once.
  • Since any attacker who can listen to traffic can see sequence numbers, it is necessary to sign messages with some kind of cryptography to ensure that sequence numbers are not simply doctored along with content.

More Authentication Bypass by Capture-replay vulnerabilities (CWE-294)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Third-party and government advisories

Other references

Other vulnerabilities in SaltStack Salt

All SaltStack Salt vulnerabilities

Recent Authentication Bypass by Capture-replay vulnerabilities

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