Threat operations/Case file
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Vulnerability threat dossier

CVE-2021-25281

saltstacksalt

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.

VTP deterministic threat14.6of 100 · CVSS excluded

VTP analyst assessment

Salt-API wheel_async authentication bypass

AI-assisted analytical recommendationDoes not set factual exploitation state
AI review stateREVIEWED
AI priorityNONE
AI confidence91%
Public exploitation · VTP factUNKNOWN

Assessment

Salt before 3002.5 fails to honor eauth credentials for the wheel_async client, allowing a remote attacker to run arbitrary wheel modules on the master. The supplied CVSS is 9.8 with complete confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact. EPSS is elevated at 0.7313, but no exploitation evidence is supplied.

Why it matters

  • Control of wheel modules on the Salt master could compromise centralized infrastructure administration.
  • The supplied vector requires neither privileges nor user interaction.

Evidence

1 record references and 1 source references passed trusted post-response validation. The current deterministic record contains 0 independent evidence groups.

Uncertainties

The bundle does not establish salt-api exposure, deployed versions, or configuration.

No KEV entry, exploit evidence, or first-party telemetry is supplied; EPSS is predictive only.

First-party honeypot request semantics are potentially consistent with this CVE. This is an unconfirmed candidate match, not proof of exploitation or successful execution.

Next watchpoint

Identify Salt versions before 3002.5 and externally reachable salt-api services.

AI baseline history (1)
  1. BASELINE ASSESSED
    Salt-API wheel_async authentication bypassgpt-5.6-sol · high
Technical severityCRITICALCVSS 9.8 · technical context
Public exploitationUNKNOWNGlobal public evidence
Exploit maturityNONE KNOWNReliability not implied
EPSS0.7399th percentile · prediction
Evidence confidence0%Strongest independent active claim
VelocitySTABLEMaterial events only
First-party telemetryFirst-party honeypot request semantics are potentially consistent with this CVE. This is an unconfirmed candidate match, not proof of exploitation or successful execution.
Availability: SENSOR_ONLINE_NO_MATCHING_ACTIVITY · Evidence: UNKNOWN
MEDIUM

Honeypot request semantics are potentially consistent with CVE-2021-25281. The match tolerates bounded payload variants and remains unconfirmed.

POTENTIALLY COMPATIBLETechnical consistency 80/100

Basis: deterministic technical candidate

CVE-2021-25281
Potentially consistent; exploitation not confirmedDisclosure embargo completed
MEDIUM

Honeypot request semantics are potentially consistent with CVE-2021-25281. The match tolerates bounded payload variants and remains unconfirmed.

POTENTIALLY COMPATIBLETechnical consistency 80/100

Basis: deterministic technical candidate

CVE-2021-25281
Potentially consistent; exploitation not confirmedDisclosure embargo completed
01

VTP deterministic assessment

Why this matters

  1. 01

    EPSS is 0.73; this is predictive context, not exploitation evidence.

  2. 02

    First-party honeypot request semantics are potentially consistent with this CVE. This is an unconfirmed candidate match, not proof of exploitation or successful execution.

02

Material change ledger

What changed

No material changes are recorded for this subject.

03

Claim provenance

Evidence and source independence

0publications detected
0underlying evidence chains

0 primary sources · 0 dependent secondary reports · 0 reports with unresolved independence. Repetition remains visible without multiplying confirmation.

04

Event history

Threat timeline

    05

    Original publications

    Source record

    06

    Technical vulnerability data

    Context, not threat proof

    VTP threat score14.6vtp-threat-v1-public
    Public exploitation0 / 30
    EPSS prediction14.63 / 20
    Exploit availability0 / 15
    Source independence0 / 15
    Intelligence recency0 / 10
    Threat acceleration0 / 10
    CVSS technical severityExcluded
    CVSS
    9.8 · CRITICAL
    Vector
    CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
    CWE
    CWE-287
    CPE records
    7
    Deterministic history records
    20
    Primary technical reference
    07

    Raw observations

    First-party sensor records

    First-party honeypot request semantics are potentially consistent with this CVE. This is an unconfirmed candidate match, not proof of exploitation or successful execution.