SaltStack Salt Authentication Bypass Vulnerability

SaltStack Salt contains an authentication bypass vulnerability in the salt-master process ClearFuncs due to improperly validating method calls. The vulnerability allows a remote user to access some methods without authentication, which can be used to retrieve user tokens from the salt master and/or run commands on salt minions. Salt users who follow fundamental internet security guidelines and best practices are not affected by this vulnerability.

Published 8 Oct 2026Updated 8 Oct 2026551 sources
CVSS 9.8 ✓ VERIFIED REFERENCE△ CISA KEV

What happened

SaltStack Salt contains an authentication bypass vulnerability in the salt-master process ClearFuncs due to improperly validating method calls. The vulnerability allows a remote user to access some methods without authentication, which can be used to retrieve user tokens from the salt master and/or run commands on salt minions. Salt users who follow fundamental internet security guidelines and best practices are not affected by this vulnerability.

Affected versions

Salt: See original advisory Fixed: See vendor advisory.

Why it matters

This source correlation may provide earlier visibility while structured CVE metadata is still being updated.

Detection & mitigation

  • Review the original advisory and validate affected versions.
  • Apply vendor-provided updates or mitigations when available.

Public PoC references

RepositoryAuthorFirst seenReference
Exploit-DB 48421Saltstack 3000.1 - Remote Code ExecutionJasper Lievisse Adriaanse2020-05-05VerifiedSploitusSaltStack master request server exposes _prep_auth_info without authentication.CyberCTF2026-10-08T21:00:14VerifiedPoC-in-GitHub · CyberCTF/vulhub-saltstack-cve-2020-11651Vulhub saltstack/CVE-2020-11651: SaltStack Master Authentication Bypass (CVE-2020-11651), run with Isoloom★ 0CyberCTF2026-10-08CandidatePoC-in-GitHub · chef-cft/salt-vulnerabilitiesChecks for CVE-2020-11651 and CVE-2020-11652★ 6chef-cft2020-05-01CandidatePoC-in-GitHub · rossengeorgiev/salt-security-backportsSalt security backports for CVE-2020-11651 & CVE-2020-11652★ 108rossengeorgiev2020-05-01CandidatePoC-in-GitHub · dozernz/cve-2020-11651★ 106dozernz2020-05-04CandidatePoC-in-GitHub · 0xc0d/CVE-2020-11651CVE-2020-11651: Proof of Concept★ 400xc0d2020-05-04CandidatePoC-in-GitHub · jasperla/CVE-2020-11651-pocPoC exploit of CVE-2020-11651 and CVE-2020-11652★ 122jasperla2020-05-04CandidatePoC-in-GitHub · bravery9/SaltStack-ExpCVE-2020-11651&&CVE-2020-11652 EXP★ 5bravery92020-05-04CandidatePoC-in-GitHub · kevthehermit/CVE-2020-11651PoC for CVE-2020-11651★ 6kevthehermit2020-05-04CandidatePoC-in-GitHub · lovelyjuice/cve-2020-11651-exp-plus★ 5lovelyjuice2020-05-07CandidatePoC-in-GitHub · ssrsec/CVE-2020-11651-CVE-2020-11652-EXPCVE-2020-11651&&CVE-2020-11652 EXP★ 24ssrsec2020-05-07CandidatePoC-in-GitHub · RakhithJK/CVE-2020-11651PoC for CVE-2020-11651★ 0RakhithJK2020-05-09CandidatePoC-in-GitHub · appcheck-ng/salt-rce-scanner-CVE-2020-11651-CVE-2020-11652Scanning tool to test for SaltStack vulnerabilities CVE-2020-11651 & CVE-2020-11652.★ 1appcheck-ng2020-11-30CandidatePoC-in-GitHub · hardsoftsecurity/CVE-2020-11651-PoCRepository that contains a CVE-2020-11651 Exploit updated to work with the latest versions of python.★ 0hardsoftsecurity2023-12-18CandidatePoC-in-GitHub · Drew-Alleman/CVE-2020-11651A script that exploits SaltStack CVE-2020-11651 and CVE-2020-11652 to add new users to a vulnerable Salt master by injecting entries into /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow. POC★ 1Drew-Alleman2025-03-30CandidatePoC-in-GitHub · s1lentf00thold/CVE-2020-11651-Poc★ 0s1lentf00thold2026-06-23Candidate