CVE-2020-16846: SaltStack Salt Shell Injection Vulnerability

Reference page built from the source records below, each shown as its source publishes it. Dataset version ref-3ed9be6c6b25, updated 2026-11-02T23:39:54.475Z.

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities

Name
SaltStack Salt Shell Injection Vulnerability
Vendor
SaltStack
Product
Salt
Added to the catalog
2021-11-03
Due date for US federal agencies
2022-05-03
Weaknesses
CWE-78
Catalog version
2026.10.30

SaltStack Salt allows an unauthenticated user with network access to the Salt API to use shell injections to run code on the Salt API using the SSH client. This vulnerability affects any users running the Salt API.

Required action (CISA)

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Ransomware use: CISA does not mark known use of this vulnerability in ransomware campaigns.

Links in CISA's notes

Read on 2026-11-02T23:39:54.475Z under licence cisa-kev-cc0@b0067899 from https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json

NVD analysis

Status
Analyzed
Published
2020-11-06T08:15:13.283
Last modified
2026-06-17T02:58:07.953
Weaknesses
CWE-78

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.

MetricScoreSeverityVectorScored by
CVSS 3.19.8CRITICALCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H[email protected] (Primary)
CVSS 3.19.8CRITICALCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 (Secondary)
CVSS 2.07.5HIGHAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P[email protected] (Primary)

References

This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.

Read on 2026-11-02T23:41:51.476Z under licence nvd-api-terms-of-use@ff2a5288 from https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?cveId=CVE-2020-16846

CVE record

Assigner
mitre
State
PUBLISHED
Published
2020-11-06T07:27:24.000Z
Updated
2025-10-21T23:35:33.124Z
Problem types
n/a

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.

References

Read on 2026-11-03T01:03:48.522Z under licence cve-terms-of-use@81bfa2f3 from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/main/cves/2020/16xxx/CVE-2020-16846.json

GitHub Advisory Database

GHSA-qr38-h96j-2j3w: SaltStack Salt Command Injection in netapi ssh client

Severity (GitHub)
critical
CVSS
9.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:H
Weaknesses
CWE-78
Published
2022-05-24T17:33:18Z
Updated
2025-10-22T17:55:31Z
  • pip salt: affected < 2015.8.13, first patched 2015.8.13
  • pip salt: affected >= 2016.3.0, < 2016.3.8, first patched 2016.3.8
  • pip salt: affected >= 2016.11.0, < 2016.11.10, first patched 2016.11.10
  • pip salt: affected >= 2017.5.0, < 2017.7.8, first patched 2017.7.8
  • pip salt: affected >= 2018.2.0, < 2018.3.5, first patched 2018.3.5
  • pip salt: affected >= 2019.2.0, < 2019.2.6, first patched 2019.2.6
  • pip salt: affected >= 3000.0, < 3000.4, first patched 3000.4
  • pip salt: affected >= 3001, < 3001.2, first patched 3001.2
  • pip salt: affected >= 3002, < 3002.1, first patched 3002.1

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.

Read on 2026-11-03T10:52:58.893Z under licence ghsa-cc-by-4.0@9e5f1b3c from https://api.github.com/advisories/GHSA-qr38-h96j-2j3w

Also known as / affected packages

GHSA-qr38-h96j-2j3w

Also known as: CVE-2020-16846. OSV.dev record, GitHub advisory.

  • PyPI salt: introduced 0, fixed 2015.8.13
  • PyPI salt: introduced 2016.3.0, fixed 2016.3.8
  • PyPI salt: introduced 2016.11.0, fixed 2016.11.10
  • PyPI salt: introduced 2017.5.0, fixed 2017.7.8
  • PyPI salt: introduced 2018.2.0, fixed 2018.3.5
  • PyPI salt: introduced 2019.2.0, fixed 2019.2.6
  • PyPI salt: introduced 3000.0, fixed 3000.4
  • PyPI salt: introduced 3001, fixed 3001.2
  • PyPI salt: introduced 3002, fixed 3002.1

Read on 2026-11-03T00:50:46.664Z under licence ghsa-cc-by-4.0@9e5f1b3c from https://api.osv.dev/v1/vulns/GHSA-qr38-h96j-2j3w

Defensive techniques (MITRE D3FEND)

D3FEND maps these defensive techniques to the weakness (CWE) that NVD lists for this CVE, through the digital artifacts the weakness affects. D3FEND does not say they stop this vulnerability.

CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')

D3FEND ontology version 1.6.0.

Read on 2026-11-02T23:54:16.526Z under licence d3fend-terms-of-use@f98cbc7e from https://d3fend.mitre.org/api/weakness/cwe/CWE-78.json

MITRE D3FEND™ knowledge graph. © 2025 The MITRE Corporation.
"The MITRE Corporation (MITRE) hereby grants you a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use D3FEND for research, development, and commercial purposes. Any copy you make for such purposes is authorized provided that you reproduce MITRE's copyright designation and this license in any such copy." Terms: https://d3fend.mitre.org/tou/

Sources and licences

  • CISA

    Source: CISA Catalog of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities, version 2026.10.30, CC0 1.0. Use of this data does not imply endorsement by CISA or DHS.

    CC0 1.0 Universal

  • National Vulnerability Database (NIST)

    This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.

    NVD API Terms of Use (NIST publications in the public domain, 17 U.S.C. 105)

  • CVE Program, The MITRE Corporation

    Copyright © 1999-2026, The MITRE Corporation. CVE is a trademark and the CVE logo is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation. CVE Usage: MITRE hereby grants you a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable copyright license to reproduce, prepare derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, and distribute Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE™). Any copy you make for such purposes is authorized provided that you reproduce MITRE's copyright designation and this license in any such copy.

    CVE Program Terms of Use ("CVE Usage" licence)

  • GitHub Advisory Database

    Source: GitHub Advisory Database, https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-qr38-h96j-2j3w, licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Changes: fields selected and reformatted by ransomware-tracker.com.

    CC BY 4.0

  • GitHub Advisory Database via OSV.dev

    GHSA-qr38-h96j-2j3w: GitHub Advisory Database, https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-qr38-h96j-2j3w. Licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), provided as is, without warranties. Retrieved via OSV.dev (https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-qr38-h96j-2j3w), which enriches records; fields selected and reformatted by ransomware-tracker.com.

    CC BY 4.0

  • MITRE D3FEND

    MITRE D3FEND™ knowledge graph. © 2025 The MITRE Corporation.
    "The MITRE Corporation (MITRE) hereby grants you a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use D3FEND for research, development, and commercial purposes. Any copy you make for such purposes is authorized provided that you reproduce MITRE's copyright designation and this license in any such copy." Terms: https://d3fend.mitre.org/tou/

    MITRE D3FEND Terms of Use (site + knowledge graph); source repo MIT

Cite this page

Dragons Eye Ransomware Tracker, "CVE-2020-16846: SaltStack Salt Shell Injection Vulnerability",
entity page, dataset version ref-3ed9be6c6b25, updated 2026-11-02T23:39:54.475Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/cve/CVE-2020-16846 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: CISA Catalog of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities, version 2026.10.30.
Underlying source: National Vulnerability Database (NIST), CVE API 2.0, record last modified 2026-06-17T02:58:07.953.
Underlying source: CVE List (CVE Program, The MITRE Corporation), record updated 2025-10-21T23:35:33.124Z.
Underlying source: GitHub Advisory Database, GHSA-qr38-h96j-2j3w, updated 2025-10-22T17:55:31Z.
Underlying source: GitHub Advisory Database, GHSA-qr38-h96j-2j3w, via OSV.dev, modified 2025-10-22T19:38:23.802933Z.
Underlying source: MITRE D3FEND, ontology version 1.6.0.

Pages change. The dataset version identifies the data, but no archive of old versions is kept, so this citation cannot be replayed later.

CISA KEV index