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High, CVSS 8.2amended

SaltStack Salt Improper Certificate Validation

CVE-2020-28972GHSA-w589-r335-4f55

What to do

Partial vendor fix. Follow the primary source's mitigation guidance and check back for a fix.

This page has no inventory attached, so it cannot say whether you are affected. A vendor fix is not proof that your deployment is fixed.

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Affected packages

  • PyPI salt

    Affected
    < 2015.8.13>= 2016.3.0, < 2016.11.5>= 2016.11.7, < 2016.11.10>= 2017.5.0, < 2017.7.8>= 2018.2.0, <= 2018.3.5>= 2019.2.0, < 2019.2.8>= 3000, < 3000.7>= 3001, < 3001.5>= 3002, < 3002.3
    Fixed in
    2016.11.5, 3000.7, 2019.2.8, 2015.8.13, 3002.3, 3001.5, 2017.7.8, 2016.11.10

Sources

Severity and exploitation
Exploitation
No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.
CVSS 4.0
8.2 · CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N · score source
EPSS
  • CVE-2020-28972: 3.08% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 87.68 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.
Source description

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

In SaltStack Salt before 3002.5, authentication to VMware vcenter, vsphere, and esxi servers (in the vmware.py files) does not always validate the SSL/TLS certificate.

Dates and revisions
Published by the source
Last modified by the source
Source last checked
  1. Revision 3 · amended ·

    Amended from ghsa record GHSA-w589-r335-4f55

  2. Revision 2 · amended ·

    Reviewed OSV alias/range/CVSS4 correction; package source scopes and original publication preserved. No customer finding resolved.

  3. Revision 1 · created ·

    Published from osv record GHSA-w589-r335-4f55

Agent brief

Preview the exact text before you copy it. Commands are read-only suggestions; review them before running anything.

# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2020-28972

Advisory: SaltStack Salt Improper Certificate Validation
IDs: CVE-2020-28972, GHSA-w589-r335-4f55
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2020-28972 (revision 3, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 13:25 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: High (CVSS 8.2)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Partial vendor fix; fixed versions by package: salt 3002.3, 3001.5, 3000.7, 2019.2.8, 2017.7.8, 2016.11.10, 2016.11.5, 2015.8.13. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- PyPI salt: affected < 2015.8.13; >= 2016.3.0, < 2016.11.5; >= 2016.11.7, < 2016.11.10; >= 2017.5.0, < 2017.7.8; >= 2018.2.0, <= 2018.3.5; >= 2019.2.0, < 2019.2.8; >= 3000, < 3000.7; >= 3001, < 3001.5; >= 3002, < 3002.3; fixed in 2016.11.5, 3000.7, 2019.2.8, 2015.8.13, 3002.3, 3001.5, 2017.7.8, 2016.11.10

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- `python -m pip show salt`: prints the installed version. Run with the environment that serves production active.

## Supported action
No complete vendor fix is recorded. Follow the primary source's mitigation guidance and check this record again before closing anything.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on salt.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-w589-r335-4f55 (OSV record GHSA-w589-r335-4f55 lists affected ranges: PyPI salt >=0 =2016.3.0 =2016.11.7 =2017.5.0 =2018.2.0 =2019.2.0 =3000 =3001 =3002 <3002.3 (fixed))
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-w589-r335-4f55 (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-w589-r335-4f55 lists affected ranges: PyPI salt >=0 =2016.3.0 =2016.11.7 =2017.5.0 =2018.2.0 =2019.2.0 =3000 =3001 =3002 <3002.3)

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