CVE-2024-31141: Apache Kafka Clients Privilege Escalation To Filesystem Read-access Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-2x2g-32r7-p4x8
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CVSS 6.5
CWE-269
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2024-31141 is a MODERATE (CVSS 6.5) privilege escalation to filesystem read-access vulnerability (CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management) affecting Apache Kafka Clients libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves privilege escalation to filesystem read-access via automatic configprovider. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3.7.1.

CVE-2024-31141 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2024-31141
GHSA Identifier GHSA-2x2g-32r7-p4x8
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 6.5
CWE Classification CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management
Affected Product Apache Kafka Clients
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 6.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2024-31141

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Apache Kafka Clients dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

org.apache.kafka:kafka-clients fixed: 3.7.1 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.kafka</groupId>
    <artifactId>kafka-clients</artifactId>
    <version>3.7.1</version>
</dependency>
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.kafka

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2024-31141, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.kafka

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Apache Kafka Clients in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3.7.1), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.kafka command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management, where the product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor. In Apache Kafka Clients, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

Files or Directories Accessible to External Parties, Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in Apache Kafka Clients. Apache Kafka Clients accept configuration data for customizing behavior, and includes ConfigProvider plugins in order to manipulate these configurations. Apache Kafka also provides FileConfigProvider, DirectoryConfigProvider, and EnvVarConfigProvider implementations which include the ability to read from disk or environment variables. In applications where Apache Kafka Clients configurations can be specified by an untrusted party, attackers may use these ConfigProviders to read arbitrary contents of the disk and environment variables. In particular, this flaw may be used in Apache Kafka Connect to escalate from REST API access to filesystem/environment access, which may be undesirable in certain environments, including SaaS products. This issue affects Apache Kafka Clients: from from 2.3.0 through 3.5.2, 3.6.0 through 3.6.2, and 3.7.0. Users with affected applications are recommended to upgrade kafka-clients to version >=3.8.0, and set the JVM system property "org.apache.kafka.automatic.config.providers=none". Users of Kafka Connect with one of the listed ConfigProvider implementations specified in their worker config are also recommended to add appropriate "allowlist.pattern" and "allowed.paths" to restrict their operation to appropriate bounds. For users of Kafka Clients or Kafka Connect in environments that trust users with disk and environment variable access, it is not recommended to set the system property. For users of the Kafka Broker, Kafka MirrorMaker 2.0, Kafka Streams, and Kafka command-line tools, it is not recommended to set the system property.

CVE-2024-31141 Affected Apache Kafka Clients Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3.7.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.apache.kafka:kafka-clients
maven/org.apache.kafka/kafka-clients
Maven
≥ 2.3.0
< 3.7.1
3.7.1

References

NVD — CVE-2024-31141 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-31141
Apache Kafka Clients Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/apache/kafka
lists.apache.org/thread/9whdzfr0zwdh... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread/9whdzfr0zwdhr364604w5ssnzmg4v2lv
Apache Kafka Clients Security Information SECURITY
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20250131-0001
Apache Kafka Clients Security Information SECURITY
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/11/18/5

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-31141?
CVE-2024-31141 is a security vulnerability in Apache Kafka Clients involving Privilege escalation to filesystem read-access via automatic ConfigProvider under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management.
Which Apache Kafka Clients versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3.7.1 across affected packages: org.apache.kafka:kafka-clients.
What version fixes CVE-2024-31141?
Upgrading to 3.7.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is kafka-clients affected?
Yes, org.apache.kafka:kafka-clients is affected in releases prior to 3.7.1. Upgrade your dependency to 3.7.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2024-31141?
CVE-2024-31141 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.5 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2024-31141?
CVE-2024-31141 is classified under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management (The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2024-31141?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.kafka'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-2x2g-32r7-p4x8",
  "modified" : "2025-02-18T21:00:05Z",
  "published" : "2024-11-19T09:30:54Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2024-31141" ],
  "summary" : "Apache Kafka Clients: Privilege escalation to filesystem read-access via automatic ConfigProvider",
  "details" : "Files or Directories Accessible to External Parties, Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in Apache Kafka Clients.\n\nApache Kafka Clients accept configuration data for customizing behavior, and includes ConfigProvider plugins in order to manipulate these configurations. Apache Kafka also provides FileConfigProvider, DirectoryConfigProvider, and EnvVarConfigProvider implementations which include the ability to read from disk or environment variables.\nIn applications where Apache Kafka Clients configurations can be specified by an untrusted party, attackers may use these ConfigProviders to read arbitrary contents of the disk and environment variables.\n\nIn particular, this flaw may be used in Apache Kafka Connect to escalate from REST API access to filesystem/environment access, which may be undesirable in certain environments, including SaaS products.\nThis issue affects Apache Kafka Clients: from from 2.3.0 through 3.5.2, 3.6.0 through 3.6.2, and 3.7.0.\n\n\nUsers with affected applications are recommended to upgrade kafka-clients to version >=3.8.0, and set the JVM system property \"org.apache.kafka.automatic.config.providers=none\".\nUsers of Kafka Connect with one of the listed ConfigProvider implementations specified in their worker config are also recommended to add appropriate \"allowlist.pattern\" and \"allowed.paths\" to restrict their operation to appropriate bounds.\n\n\nFor users of Kafka Clients or Kafka Connect in environments that trust users with disk and environment variable access, it is not recommended to set the system property.\nFor users of the Kafka Broker, Kafka MirrorMaker 2.0, Kafka Streams, and Kafka command-line tools, it is not recommended to set the system property.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.kafka:kafka-clients"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.3.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.7.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-31141"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/apache/kafka"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread/9whdzfr0zwdhr364604w5ssnzmg4v2lv"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20250131-0001"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/11/18/5"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-269" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2024-11-19T18:02:57Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2024-11-19T09:15:03Z"
  }
}