HOME VULNERABILITIESCVE-2018-15751

CRITICAL

CVE-2018-15751

CWE-287Published: October 24, 2018· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

9.8

CVSS v3.1

Official Description

SaltStack Salt before 2017.7.8 and 2018.3.x before 2018.3.3 allow remote attackers to bypass authentication and execute arbitrary commands via salt-api(netapi).

Technical Analysis

CVE-2018-15751 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.

The vulnerability requires no privileges and no user interaction, making it a prime target for automated exploitation campaigns and worm-like propagation.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 9.8.

From a weakness classification perspective (CWE-287): Authentication bypass vulnerabilities allow attackers to access protected resources without valid credentials.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability

Attack VectorNetwork

Attack ComplexityLow

Privileges Req.None

User InteractionNone

ScopeUnchanged

Impact

ConfidentialityHigh

IntegrityHigh

AvailabilityHigh

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected Vendors & Products

saltstack1 product(s)

salt

Source: NVD CPE · 1 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time

Offensive Security exploit database

GitHub PoC Search

Community PoC repositories

Rapid7 / Metasploit

Metasploit module search

Security advisories & exploits

Official NIST entry

CVE Program entry

External links open in a new tab. Always verify in a controlled environment before use.

Official Patches & Advisories

ADVISORYhttps://docs.saltstack.com/en/2017.7/topics/releases/2017.7.8.html

ADVISORYhttps://docs.saltstack.com/en/latest/topics/releases/2018.3.3.html

ADVISORYhttps://groups.google.com/d/msg/salt-users/L9xqcJ0UXxs/qgDj42obBQAJ

ADVISORYhttps://groups.google.com/d/msg/salt-users/dimVF7rpphY/jn3Xv3MbBQAJ

ADVISORYhttps://docs.saltstack.com/en/2017.7/topics/releases/2017.7.8.html

ADVISORYhttps://docs.saltstack.com/en/latest/topics/releases/2018.3.3.html

ADVISORYhttps://groups.google.com/d/msg/salt-users/L9xqcJ0UXxs/qgDj42obBQAJ

ADVISORYhttps://groups.google.com/d/msg/salt-users/dimVF7rpphY/jn3Xv3MbBQAJ

All References (14)

→

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-07/msg00070.html

→

https://docs.saltstack.com/en/2017.7/topics/releases/2017.7.8.htmlRelease Notes · Vendor Advisory

→

https://docs.saltstack.com/en/latest/topics/releases/2018.3.3.htmlRelease Notes · Vendor Advisory

→

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/salt-users/L9xqcJ0UXxs/qgDj42obBQAJRelease Notes · Third Party Advisory

→

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/salt-users/dimVF7rpphY/jn3Xv3MbBQAJRelease Notes · Third Party Advisory

→

https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/07/msg00024.html

→

https://usn.ubuntu.com/4459-1/

→

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-07/msg00070.html

→

https://docs.saltstack.com/en/2017.7/topics/releases/2017.7.8.htmlRelease Notes · Vendor Advisory

→

https://docs.saltstack.com/en/latest/topics/releases/2018.3.3.htmlRelease Notes · Vendor Advisory

→

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/salt-users/L9xqcJ0UXxs/qgDj42obBQAJRelease Notes · Third Party Advisory

→

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/salt-users/dimVF7rpphY/jn3Xv3MbBQAJRelease Notes · Third Party Advisory

→

https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/07/msg00024.html

→

https://usn.ubuntu.com/4459-1/

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2018-15751

CVSS Score9.8 / 10

SeverityCRITICAL

WeaknessCWE-287

CISA KEVNo

Affected1 vendor(s)

PublishedOct 24, 2018

Related CVEs (CWE-287)

Recommended Actions

→Apply vendor patches immediately
→Monitor CVE-2018-15751 in threat intel feeds
→Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts

Data sourced from NVD (NIST), CISA KEV, and EPSS (FIRST). Analysis generated by CTIWATCH.COM. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.

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