GHSA-qr38-h96j-2j3w
CRITICALSaltStack Salt Command Injection in netapi ssh client
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
Blast Radius
salt🐍salt🐍salt🐍salt🐍salt🐍salt🐍salt🐍salt+1 moreReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects PyPI packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
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.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | salt | all versions | 2015.8.13 |
| 🐍PyPI | salt | ≥ 2016.3.0&&< 2016.3.8 | 2016.3.8 |
| 🐍PyPI | salt | ≥ 2016.11.0&&< 2016.11.10 | 2016.11.10 |
| 🐍PyPI | salt | ≥ 2017.5.0&&< 2017.7.8 | 2017.7.8 |
| 🐍PyPI | salt | ≥ 2018.2.0&&< 2018.3.5 | 2018.3.5 |
| 🐍PyPI | salt | ≥ 2019.2.0&&< 2019.2.6 | 2019.2.6 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
An issue was discovered in SaltStack Salt through 3002. Sending crafted …
An issue was discovered in SaltStack Salt through 3002. Sending crafted …
An issue was discovered in SaltStack Salt through 3002. Sending crafted …
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for salt. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update salt to 2015.8.13 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-qr38-h96j-2j3w is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether GHSA-qr38-h96j-2j3w is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to GHSA-qr38-h96j-2j3w. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-qr38-h96j-2j3w in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-qr38-h96j-2j3w across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.