CVE-2021-25281

CVE-2021-25281 is a critical-severity improper authentication vulnerability in salt (pip), affecting versions < 2015.8.13. It is fixed in 2015.8.13, 2016.11.5, 2016.11.10, 2017.7.8, 2019.2.8, 3000.7, 3001.5, 3002.3.

Summary

An issue was discovered in through SaltStack Salt before 3002.5. salt-api does not honor eauth credentials for the wheel_async client. Thus, an attacker can remotely run any wheel modules on the master.

Impact

The application does not adequately verify the identity of a user, device, or process before granting access. Typical impact: unauthorized access to functions or data reserved for authenticated parties.

CVE-2021-25281 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (Critical). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (2015.8.13, 2016.11.5, 2016.11.10, 2017.7.8, 2019.2.8, 3000.7, 3001.5, 3002.3); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Affected versions

salt (< 2015.8.13) salt (>= 2016.3.0, < 2016.11.5) salt (>= 2016.11.7, < 2016.11.10) salt (>= 2017.5.0, < 2017.7.8) salt (>= 2018.2.0, <= 2018.3.5) salt (>= 2019.2.0, < 2019.2.8) salt (>= 3000, < 3000.7) salt (>= 3001, < 3001.5) salt (>= 3002, < 3002.3)

Security releases

salt → 2015.8.13 (pip) salt → 2016.11.5 (pip) salt → 2016.11.10 (pip) salt → 2017.7.8 (pip) salt → 2019.2.8 (pip) salt → 3000.7 (pip) salt → 3001.5 (pip) salt → 3002.3 (pip)

Kodem intelligence

Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.

Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.

See it in your environment

Remediation advice

Upgrade the following packages to resolve this vulnerability:

salt to 2015.8.13 or later; salt to 2016.11.5 or later; salt to 2016.11.10 or later; salt to 2017.7.8 or later; salt to 2019.2.8 or later; salt to 3000.7 or later; salt to 3001.5 or later; salt to 3002.3 or later

Kodem Kai can prioritize this vulnerability in your dependency tree and generate a fix recommendation.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is CVE-2021-25281? CVE-2021-25281 is a critical-severity improper authentication vulnerability in salt (pip), affecting versions < 2015.8.13. It is fixed in 2015.8.13, 2016.11.5, 2016.11.10, 2017.7.8, 2019.2.8, 3000.7, 3001.5, 3002.3. The application does not adequately verify the identity of a user, device, or process before granting access.
  2. How severe is CVE-2021-25281? CVE-2021-25281 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (Critical). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
  3. Which versions of salt are affected by CVE-2021-25281? salt (pip) versions < 2015.8.13 is affected.
  4. Is there a fix for CVE-2021-25281? Yes. CVE-2021-25281 is fixed in 2015.8.13, 2016.11.5, 2016.11.10, 2017.7.8, 2019.2.8, 3000.7, 3001.5, 3002.3. Upgrade to this version or later.
  5. Is CVE-2021-25281 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2021-25281 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
  6. What actually determines whether CVE-2021-25281 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
  7. How do I fix CVE-2021-25281?
    • Upgrade salt to 2015.8.13 or later
    • Upgrade salt to 2016.11.5 or later
    • Upgrade salt to 2016.11.10 or later
    • Upgrade salt to 2017.7.8 or later
    • Upgrade salt to 2019.2.8 or later
    • Upgrade salt to 3000.7 or later
    • Upgrade salt to 3001.5 or later
    • Upgrade salt to 3002.3 or later

Other vulnerabilities in salt

Other vulnerabilities in salt

CVE-IDSeverityPackage summary
CVE-2025-62349Highsalt: Salt Authentication Protocol Version Downgrade Allows Minion ImpersonationCVE-2025-62348Highsalt: Salt junos Module Vulnerable to Code Injection via Specially Crafted YAML PayloadCVE-2024-38824Criticalsalt: Salt vulnerable to directory traversal attack in file receiving methodCVE-2025-22242Mediumsalt: Salt's worker process vulnerable to denial of service through file read operationCVE-2025-22238Mediumsalt: Salt vulnerable to directory traversal attack in minion file cache creation

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