CVE-2017-14695 in SaltStack Salt
Summary
by MITRE
Directory traversal vulnerability in minion id validation in SaltStack Salt before 2016.3.8, 2016.11.x before 2016.11.8, and 2017.7.x before 2017.7.2 allows remote minions with incorrect credentials to authenticate to a master via a crafted minion ID. NOTE: this vulnerability exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2017-12791.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/04/2023
The vulnerability described in CVE-2017-14695 represents a directory traversal flaw within SaltStack Salt's minion identification validation mechanism, specifically affecting versions prior to the mentioned security patches. This issue arises from an incomplete remediation of CVE-2017-12791, creating a persistent security weakness that allows unauthorized access to Salt master systems. The vulnerability specifically targets the minion ID validation process, which is a critical component in Salt's distributed configuration management architecture where minions authenticate to masters to receive commands and configurations.
The technical flaw manifests when remote minions attempt to authenticate to a Salt master using crafted minion IDs that exploit improper input validation. This directory traversal vulnerability enables malicious actors to manipulate the minion identification process and gain unauthorized access to the master system. The incomplete fix for CVE-2017-12791 left residual vulnerabilities in the validation logic, allowing attackers to bypass authentication mechanisms through carefully constructed minion identifiers that could traverse directory structures or exploit path handling weaknesses. This weakness operates at the core of Salt's security model where minion IDs serve as the primary authentication mechanism between distributed nodes.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it allows remote attackers to authenticate to Salt masters without proper credentials, potentially leading to full system compromise. Attackers could execute arbitrary commands on the master, access sensitive configuration data, and manipulate the entire Salt infrastructure. This vulnerability undermines the fundamental security assumptions of Salt's distributed architecture, where the master system maintains control over multiple minions and expects secure authentication before granting access to system resources. The compromise of a Salt master can result in widespread system compromise across all managed nodes, making this a critical vulnerability for organizations relying on Salt for configuration management.
Organizations should immediately implement the security patches released for SaltStack Salt versions 2016.3.8, 2016.11.8, and 2017.7.2 to address this vulnerability. The remediation process requires careful coordination to ensure that all minions and masters are updated simultaneously to prevent authentication failures during the upgrade process. Network segmentation and access controls should be implemented to limit exposure of Salt masters to untrusted networks. Additionally, organizations should conduct comprehensive security assessments of their Salt infrastructure to identify any potential exploitation that may have occurred before patching. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-22 directory traversal weakness and represents a technique that could be categorized under ATT&CK tactic TA0006 privilege escalation through credential access. The vulnerability demonstrates how incomplete security fixes can create persistent risks that require careful attention to ensure complete remediation of security issues in distributed systems.