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CVE-2023-44981

9.1 · CRITICAL

Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability in Apache ZooKeeper.

Published Oct 11, 2023CWE-639EPSS 2.22%

Overview

CVE-2023-44981 is a critical-severity vulnerability. It was published on October 11, 2023 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.1 (CRITICAL).

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.1, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.

Technical 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 '[email protected]', 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.

Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

References

Refwww.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/10/11/4Reflists.apache.org/thread/wf0yrk84dg1942z1o74kd8nycg6pgm5bReflists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/10/msg00029.htmlRefsecurity.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20240621-0007/Refwww.debian.org/security/2023/dsa-5544Refwww.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/10/11/4Reflists.apache.org/thread/wf0yrk84dg1942z1o74kd8nycg6pgm5bReflists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/10/msg00029.htmlRefsecurity.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20240621-0007/Refwww.debian.org/security/2023/dsa-5544

How CyberStrike helps

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-44981?

CVE-2023-44981 is a critical-severity vulnerability. It was published on October 11, 2023 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.1 (CRITICAL).

How severe is CVE-2023-44981?

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.1, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.

How do I fix or remediate CVE-2023-44981?

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2023-44981?

CyberStrike is an open-source, AI-augmented pentesting engine. Rather than flag a version number, it tests whether an issue like CVE-2023-44981 is actually reachable in your own applications and APIs, then verifies each finding before reporting it. That tells you if the weakness is a real, exploitable risk in your environment or a false positive you can safely deprioritize.

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