How severe is CVE-2020-28243?

CVE-2020-28243 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2020-28243 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 4% (90th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2020-28243?

CVE-2020-28243 primarily affects Saltstack Salt. In total, 7 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2020-28243?

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-2020-28243 published?

CVE-2020-28243 was published on 2021-02-27 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2020-28243

CVE-2020-28243 is a high-severity vulnerability in Saltstack Salt with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8. 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-77.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 7.8)
CVSS v2: 4.4
EPSS exploit prediction: 4% (90th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-77
Affected product: Saltstack Salt
Published: 2021-02-27
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

An issue was discovered in SaltStack Salt before 3002.5. The minion's restartcheck is vulnerable to command injection via a crafted process name. This allows for a local privilege escalation by any user able to create a files on the minion in a non-blacklisted directory.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-28243?: An issue was discovered in SaltStack Salt before 3002.5. The minion's restartcheck is vulnerable to command injection via a crafted process name. This allows for a local privilege escalation by any user able to create a files on the minion in a non-blacklisted directory.
How severe is CVE-2020-28243?: CVE-2020-28243 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2020-28243 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 4% (90th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2020-28243?: CVE-2020-28243 primarily affects Saltstack Salt. In total, 7 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2020-28243?: 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-2020-28243 published?: CVE-2020-28243 was published on 2021-02-27 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (7)

cpe:2.3:a:saltstack:salt:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:32:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:33:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:34:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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-77 (Command Injection) vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-23652 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Improper neutralization of special elements used in a command ('command injection') in Microsoft Power Pages allows an…
CVE-2025-59818 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): This vulnerability allows authenticated attackers to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying system using the file…
CVE-2025-64093 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Remote Code Execution vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary commands into the…
CVE-2025-64090 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): This vulnerability allows authenticated attackers to execute commands via the hostname of the device.
CVE-2025-61492 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): A command injection vulnerability in the execute_command function of terminal-controller-mcp 0.1.7 allows attackers to…
CVE-2025-10035 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): A deserialization vulnerability in the License Servlet of Fortra's GoAnywhere MFT allows an actor with a validly forged…

Browse all CWE-77 (Command Injection) vulnerabilities →