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CVE-2025-22241VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2025-22241: VMware SALT · Path Traversal

Affects VMware SALTSource CVE Database V5

0

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.6 Medium : upgrade to 3008.0.0 or 3007.0.0 when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
5.6Medium
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 7% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch
Available – fixed in 3008.0.0, 3007.0.0
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 13 Jun 2025

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: no evidence on record.

    No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-26.

What to do

Upgrade VMware SALT to 3008.0.0 or 3007.0.0.

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
VMware SALTAffected
  • >=3006.0.0 <3007.0.0
  • >=3007.0.0 <3008.0.0
Fixed in
  • 3007.0.0
  • 3008.0.0

AI-suggested

1. Restrict local administrative access strictly to trusted personnel and enforce the principle of least privilege to reduce the risk of exploitation. 2. Review and harden the default configuration of VMware SALT, specifically disabling or securing the auto-acceptance of Minion authentication keys via authorization files. 3. Implement rigorous input validation and path sanitization in custom configurations or scripts interacting with the VirtKey class to prevent path traversal or file overwrite attacks. 4. Monitor file system changes within the pki directory for unauthorized modifications using file integrity monitoring tools. 5. Employ multi-factor authentication and session monitoring for administrative accounts to detect and prevent unauthorized use. 6. Stay alert for official patches or advisories from VMware and apply them promptly once available. 7. Conduct regular security audits and penetration testing focusing on local privilege escalation and configuration management components. 8. Educate administrators about the risks of placing authorization files and the importance of secure key management practices.

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.

References

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