How severe is CVE-2016-1866?

CVE-2016-1866 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.1, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with high attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2016-1866 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 2% (71st percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2016-1866?

CVE-2016-1866 primarily affects Saltstack Salt. In total, 5 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2016-1866?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2016-1866 published?

CVE-2016-1866 was published on 2016-04-12 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2016-1866

CVE-2016-1866 is a high-severity vulnerability in Saltstack Salt with a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.1. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-284.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 8.1)
CVSS v2: 6.8
EPSS exploit prediction: 2% (71st percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-284
Affected product: Saltstack Salt
Published: 2016-04-12
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

Salt 2015.8.x before 2015.8.4 does not properly handle clear messages on the minion, which allows man-in-the-middle attackers to execute arbitrary code by inserting packets into the minion-master data stream.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2016-1866?: Salt 2015.8.x before 2015.8.4 does not properly handle clear messages on the minion, which allows man-in-the-middle attackers to execute arbitrary code by inserting packets into the minion-master data stream.
How severe is CVE-2016-1866?: CVE-2016-1866 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.1, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with high attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2016-1866 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 2% (71st percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2016-1866?: CVE-2016-1866 primarily affects Saltstack Salt. In total, 5 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2016-1866?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2016-1866 published?: CVE-2016-1866 was published on 2016-04-12 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (5)

cpe:2.3:a:saltstack:salt:2015.8.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:saltstack:salt:2015.8.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:saltstack:salt:2015.8.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:saltstack:salt:2015.8.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:leap:42.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Saltstack Salt

CVE-2013-6617 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The salt master in Salt (aka SaltStack) 0.11.0 through 0.17.0 does not properly drop group privileges, which makes it…
CVE-2013-4437 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Unspecified vulnerability in salt-ssh in Salt (aka SaltStack) 0.17.0 has unspecified impact and vectors related to…
CVE-2021-33226 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Buffer Overflow vulnerability in Saltstack v.3003 and before allows attacker to execute arbitrary code via the func…
CVE-2021-25315 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): CWE - CWE-287: Improper Authentication vulnerability in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP 3; openSUSE Tumbleweed…
CVE-2021-3197 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): An issue was discovered in SaltStack Salt before 3002.5. The salt-api's ssh client is vulnerable to a shell injection…
CVE-2021-3148 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): An issue was discovered in SaltStack Salt before 3002.5. Sending crafted web requests to the Salt API can result in…

All CVEs affecting Saltstack Salt →

Other CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-50746 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): A malicious actor with access to the network could exploit an Improper Access Control vulnerability found in UniFi…
CVE-2026-46978 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Vulnerability in the Oracle Solaris product of Oracle Systems (component: Remote Administration Daemon). The…
CVE-2026-35308 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Vulnerability in the Oracle Coherence product of Oracle Fusion Middleware (component: Centralized Third Party Jars).…
CVE-2026-35307 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Vulnerability in the Oracle Coherence product of Oracle Fusion Middleware (component: Core). Supported versions that…
CVE-2026-46695 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Boxlite is a sandbox service that allows users to create lightweight virtual machines (Boxes) and launch OCI containers…
CVE-2026-46840 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Vulnerability in Oracle REST Data Services (component: Backend-as-a-Service). Supported versions that are affected are…

Browse all CWE-284 (Improper Access Control) vulnerabilities →