CVE-2023-44981

CVE-2023-44981: Apache ZooKeeper: Authorization bypass in SASL Quorum Peer Authentication

Vendor Apache Software Foundation
Product Apache ZooKeeper
Weakness CWE-639 · IDOR
Published October 11, 2023
Last update April 23, 2025

CVSS base score

What the vulnerability does

Description

Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability in Apache ZooKeeper. If SASL Quorum Peer authentication is enabled in ZooKeeper (quorum.auth.enableSasl=true), the authorization is done by verifying that the instance part in SASL authentication ID is listed in zoo.cfg server list. The instance part in SASL auth ID is optional and if it's missing, like 'eve@EXAMPLE.COM', the authorization check will be skipped. As a result an arbitrary endpoint could join the cluster and begin propagating counterfeit changes to the leader, essentially giving it complete read-write access to the data tree. Quorum Peer authentication is not enabled by default. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 3.9.1, 3.8.3, 3.7.2, which fixes the issue. Alternately ensure the ensemble election/quorum communication is protected by a firewall as this will mitigate the issue. See the documentation for more details on correct cluster administration.

Key dates

Disclosure timeline

October 11, 2023 CVE published
April 23, 2025 Record updated