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OpenAdvisories
High · 7.5 CVE-2026-79993 EUVD-2026-80332GHSA-9x9g-5r48-3wvg

Apache ZooKeeper: Missing ACL check on deleteContainer opcode allows unauthorized deletion of any empty persistent/container znode

Published Sep 16, 2026 · Updated Sep 17, 2026 · Assigned by apache

Description

The `deleteContainer` opcode (0x14/20) is processed without verifying the caller's ACL permissions, allowing any authenticated client to delete specific znodes in the data tree regardless of the ACL restrictions on the znode or its parent. This opcode is considered internal-only and the official client doesn't have API for it, but a client that can open a plain TCP session on the ZooKeeper client port (2181 by default) - with NO authentication and NO ACL permissions - can delete any empty persistent znode (including regular persistent nodes, container nodes, and TTL nodes) by issuing the raw protocol OpCode deleteContainer (20). The deleteContainer request path completely skips both the session check and the DELETE ACL check that are enforced by the regular delete (OpCode 2) path. This is an authorization bypass / ACL enforcement bug.

This issue affects Apache ZooKeeper: from 3.9.0 through 3.9.5, from 3.8.0 through 3.8.6.

Users are recommended to upgrade to version 3.9.6 or 3.8.7, which fixes the issue.

Affected products

VendorProductAffectedFixed
Apache Software Foundation Apache ZooKeeper 3.9.0 – ≤ 3.9.5, 3.8.0 – ≤ 3.8.6 —

Fixed in Linux distributions

Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.

ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Debian 14 zookeeper 3.9.6-1 —
Debian 13 zookeeper No fix yet —
Debian 12 zookeeper No fix yet —
ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Ubuntu 26.10 zookeeper No fix yet —
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS zookeeper No fix yet —
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS zookeeper No fix yet —
Ubuntu 22.04 LTS zookeeper No fix yet —
Ubuntu 20.04 LTS zookeeper No fix yet —
Show 3 more (older releases, extended support, other products)
ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS zookeeper No fix yet —
Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS zookeeper No fix yet —
Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS zookeeper No fix yet —

Advisories 1

References