Critical severity · published Oct 11, 2023
CVE-2023-44981
Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability in Apache ZooKeeper
9.1
CVSS
2.2%
EPSS
No
On KEV
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.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)2.2% · higher than 83% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
DL
Debian Linux · Debian
10.0; 11.0; 12.0 · source: NVD
ZO
Zookeeper · Apache
before 3.7.2; 3.8.0 before 3.8.3; 3.9.0 · source: NVD
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-44981
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-44981
Mailing List
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/10/11/4
Issue Tracking
https://lists.apache.org/thread/wf0yrk84dg1942z1o74kd8nycg6pgm5b
Mailing List
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/10/msg00029.html
security.netapp.com
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20240621-0007/
Mailing List
https://www.debian.org/security/2023/dsa-5544
More from Zookeeper
9.1
CVE-2024-51504
When using IPAuthenticationProvider in ZooKeeper Admin Server there is a possibility of Authentication Bypass by Spoofing -- this only impacts IP based authentication implemented…
8.1
CVE-2016-5017
Buffer overflow in the C cli shell in Apache Zookeeper before 3.4.9 and 3.5.x before 3.5.3, when using the "cmd:" batch mode syntax, allows attackers to have unspecified impact…
7.5
CVE-2026-79993
Apache ZooKeeper: Missing ACL check on deleteContainer opcode allows unauthorized deletion of any empty persistent/container znode
7.5
CVE-2026-59969
Apache ZooKeeper: Improper validation of certificate with host mismatch in FIPS mode
7.5
CVE-2026-59739
Apache ZooKeeper: Information disclosure via SetWatches reconnect replay
