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High · 8.8 Scanner template Public exploit CVE-2023-25194 EUVD-2023-0598GHSA-26f8-x7cc-wqpc

Apache Kafka Connect API: Possible RCE/Denial of service attack via SASL JAAS JndiLoginModule configuration using Kafka Connect

Published Feb 7, 2023 · Updated Mar 25, 2025 · Assigned by apache

Description

A possible security vulnerability has been identified in Apache Kafka Connect API.
This requires access to a Kafka Connect worker, and the ability to create/modify connectors on it with an arbitrary Kafka client SASL JAAS config
and a SASL-based security protocol, which has been possible on Kafka Connect clusters since Apache Kafka Connect 2.3.0.
When configuring the connector via the Kafka Connect REST API, an authenticated operator can set the `sasl.jaas.config`
property for any of the connector's Kafka clients to "com.sun.security.auth.module.JndiLoginModule", which can be done via the
`producer.override.sasl.jaas.config`, `consumer.override.sasl.jaas.config`, or `admin.override.sasl.jaas.config` properties.
This will allow the server to connect to the attacker's LDAP server
and deserialize the LDAP response, which the attacker can use to execute java deserialization gadget chains on the Kafka connect server.
Attacker can cause unrestricted deserialization of untrusted data (or) RCE vulnerability when there are gadgets in the classpath.

Since Apache Kafka 3.0.0, users are allowed to specify these properties in connector configurations for Kafka Connect clusters running with out-of-the-box
configurations. Before Apache Kafka 3.0.0, users may not specify these properties unless the Kafka Connect cluster has been reconfigured with a connector
client override policy that permits them.

Since Apache Kafka 3.4.0, we have added a system property ("-Dorg.apache.kafka.disallowed.login.modules") to disable the problematic login modules usage
in SASL JAAS configuration. Also by default "com.sun.security.auth.module.JndiLoginModule" is disabled in Apache Kafka Connect 3.4.0.

We advise the Kafka Connect users to validate connector configurations and only allow trusted JNDI configurations. Also examine connector dependencies for
vulnerable versions and either upgrade their connectors, upgrading that specific dependency, or removing the connectors as options for remediation. Finally,
in addition to leveraging the "org.apache.kafka.disallowed.login.modules" system property, Kafka Connect users can also implement their own connector
client config override policy, which can be used to control which Kafka client properties can be overridden directly in a connector config and which cannot.

Affected products

VendorProductAffectedFixed
Apache Software Foundation Apache Kafka Connect API 2.3.0 – < 3.4.0 3.4.0

Public exploits

Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.

Third-party code, not reviewed by us. Public PoCs are sometimes fake or contain malware. Read the code first and run it only in an isolated lab, against systems you are authorised to test.

Metasploit 1 module

GitHub 3 repositories

Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.

Automated scanner template

A ready-made Nuclei template detects this vulnerability automatically. Vulnerabilities with public scanner templates are typically probed across the internet soon after the template appears — exposed systems should be patched first.

Source: projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates (MIT) — updated daily. Only links are listed.

Affected packages

EcosystemPackageAffectedFixedRecord
Maven org.apache.kafka:connect >= 2.3.0, < 3.4.0 3.4.0 GHSA-26f8-x7cc-wqpc

Advisories 8

References