#VU111858 Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls in Salt - CVE-2025-22241

Vulnerability identifier: #VU111858

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 5.9 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2025-22241

CWE-ID: CWE-264

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
Salt
Web applications / Remote management & hosting panels

Vendor: SaltStack

Description

The vulnerability allows a local user to bypass implemented security restrictions.

File contents overwrite the VirtKey class is called when “on-demand pillar” data is requested and uses un-validated input to create paths to the “pki directory”. The functionality is used to auto-accept Minion authentication keys based on a pre-placed “authorization file” at a specific location and is present in the default configuration.

Mitigation
Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Salt: 3000, 3000.1, 3000.2, 3000.3, 3000.4, 3000.5, 3000.6, 3000.7, 3000.8, 3000.9, 3001, 3001.1, 3001.2, 3001.3, 3001.4, 3001.5, 3001.6, 3001.7, 3001.8, 3002, 3002.1, 3002.2, 3002.3, 3002.4, 3002.5, 3002.6, 3002.7, 3002.8, 3002.9, 3003, 3003.1, 3003.2, 3003.3, 3003.4, 3003.5, 3004, 3004.1, 3004.2, 3005, 3005.1, 3005.2, 3005.3, 3005.4, 3005.5, 3006.0, 3006.1, 3006.2, 3006.3, 3006.4, 3006.5, 3006.6, 3006.7, 3006.8, 3006.9, 3006.10, 3006.11, 3006.12, 3007.0, 3007.1, 3007.2, 3007.3

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External links
https://docs.saltproject.io/en/3007/topics/releases/3007.4.html

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

No. This vulnerability can be exploited locally. The attacker should have authentication credentials and successfully authenticate on the system.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.