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Weekly Signal
Live intelligence Updated 19 Aug 2026 · 12:58 UTC

Canonical, Debian, Opensuse +2 more · Ubuntu Linux, Debian Linux, Leap +2 more

CVE-2020-11651

SaltStack Salt Authentication Bypass Vulnerability

Recommended action

Treat this as an immediate remediation priority. Apply updates per vendor instructions.

View response plan
CVSS9.8
EPSS96.6%
KEVYes
ExploitationConfirmed exploitation
PatchPatch or guidance available ↓

Assessment

Why it matters

CISA lists this vulnerability as known to be exploited; exploitation is confirmed; EPSS is 96.6%; technical severity is CVSS 9.8.

An issue was discovered in SaltStack Salt before 2019.2.4 and 3000 before 3000.2. The salt-master process ClearFuncs class does not properly validate method calls. This allows a remote user to access some methods without authentication. These methods can be used to retrieve user tokens from the salt master and/or run arbitrary commands on salt minions.

Who should care

  • Teams operating Ubuntu Linux, Debian Linux, Leap +2 more
  • Vulnerability and exposure management teams
  • Security operations teams monitoring exploitation activity

Response plan

What I would do

  1. Confirm whether Ubuntu Linux, Debian Linux, Leap +2 more is present in the environment.
  2. Identify affected versions and establish whether vulnerable services are exposed or reachable.
  3. Apply updates per vendor instructions.
  4. Review relevant security telemetry for evidence of attempted or successful exploitation.
  5. Document the remediation decision and track it to verified completion.

Vendor remediation

Patch and remediation links

Use the vendor source below to confirm the correct fixed version, package or mitigation for your affected product.

Technical details

CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CWE
Not classified
Affected versions
Canonical Ubuntu Linux (Version: 18.04); Debian Debian Linux (Version: 10.0); Opensuse Leap (Version: 15.1); SaltStack Salt (Start Including: 3000, End Excluding: 3000.2); VMware Application Remote Collector (Version: 8.0.0)
Published
30 April 2020
Attack vector
Network
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None

Signal timeline

  1. CVE published
  2. Added to CISA KEV
  3. Latest EPSS score: 96.6%
  4. Signal calculated at 85

External references

Live public intelligence This assessment combines public-source evidence. Validate the affected product, version and exposure against your own environment before making a risk decision.