What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-16846?

CVE-2020-16846 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 (Critical). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. EPSS exploitation probability: 99.6%.

Is there a public PoC exploit available for CVE-2020-16846?

Yes, a public proof-of-concept exploit is available for CVE-2020-16846. Prioritise patching immediately. EPSS: 99.6%.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2020-16846?

Yes, a patch is available for CVE-2020-16846. Update the affected software to the latest version immediately.

Salt CVE-2020-16846

CRITICAL

OS Command Injection (CWE-78)

2020-11-06 cve@mitre.org

Command Injection Salt Debian Linux Fedora Leap

9.8

CVSS 3.1 · NVD

Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY

9.8 CRITICAL

AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Lifecycle Timeline

Added to CISA KEV

Jul 14, 2026 - 04:22 CISA

CVE Published

Nov 06, 2020 - 08:15 nvd

CRITICAL 9.8

DescriptionNVD

An issue was discovered in SaltStack Salt through 3002. Sending crafted web requests to the Salt API, with the SSH client enabled, can result in shell injection.

AnalysisAI

An issue was discovered in SaltStack Salt through 3002. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.

Technical ContextAI

This vulnerability is classified as OS Command Injection (CWE-78), which allows attackers to execute arbitrary operating system commands on the host. An issue was discovered in SaltStack Salt through 3002. Sending crafted web requests to the Salt API, with the SSH client enabled, can result in shell injection. Affected products include: Saltstack Salt, Debian Debian Linux, Fedoraproject Fedora, Opensuse Leap. Version information: through 3002..

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Avoid passing user input to shell commands. Use language-specific APIs instead of shell execution. Apply strict input validation with allowlists.