Salt's file contents overwrite the VirtKey class

Description

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.

Basic information

Type
reviewed
Severity
medium
Advisory on GitHub
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Repository advisory
Source code
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Published (advisory)
2025-06-13 09:30:33 UTC
Updated
2025-06-17 20:00:42 UTC
GitHub reviewed
2025-06-13 21:57:13 UTC
NVD published
2025-06-13

EPSS Score

Score Percentile
0.14% 34.29%

CVSS Scores

Base score Version Severity Vector
5.6 3.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.

Identifiers

CWEs

CWE id Name
CWE-22 Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
CWE-73 External Control of File Name or Path

Affected packages (2)

Vulnerable version ranges and first patched releases as published by GitHub.

Ecosystem Package Vulnerable range First patched Vulnerable functions
pip salt >= 3007.0rc1, < 3007.4 3007.4
pip salt >= 3006.0rc1, < 3006.12 3006.12

References

cvelogic Threat Intelligence