CVE-2018-8016: Cassandra all Missing Authentication For Critical Function Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-52gq-7j6c-xw6x
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-306
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-8016 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) missing authentication for critical function vulnerability (CWE-306: Missing Authentication for Critical Function) affecting Cassandra all libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves missing authentication for critical function in apache cassandra. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3.11.2.

CVE-2018-8016 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-8016
GHSA Identifier GHSA-52gq-7j6c-xw6x
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-306: Missing Authentication for Critical Function
Affected Product Cassandra all
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

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

How to Fix CVE-2018-8016

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Cassandra all 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.cassandra:cassandra-all fixed: 3.11.2 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.cassandra</groupId>
    <artifactId>cassandra-all</artifactId>
    <version>3.11.2</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.cassandra

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2018-8016, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

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

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Cassandra all in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3.11.2), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.cassandra 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-306: Missing Authentication for Critical Function, where the product does not perform any authentication for functionality that requires a provable user identity or consumes a significant amount of resources. In Cassandra all, 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

The default configuration in Apache Cassandra 3.8 through 3.11.1 binds an unauthenticated JMX/RMI interface to all network interfaces, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary Java code via an RMI request. This issue is a regression of CVE-2015-0225. The regression was introduced in https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/CASSANDRA-12109. The fix for the regression is implemented in https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/CASSANDRA-14173. This fix is contained in the 3.11.2 release of Apache Cassandra.

CVE-2018-8016 Affected Cassandra all Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3.11.2
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.apache.cassandra:cassandra-all
maven/org.apache.cassandra/cassandra-all
Maven
≥ 3.8
< 3.11.2
3.11.2

References

NVD — CVE-2018-8016 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-8016
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/beobal/cassandra/commit/28ee665b3c0c9238b61a871064f024d54cddcc79
issues.apache.org/jira/browse/cassand... WEB
https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/CASSANDRA-14173
lists.apache.org/thread.html/bafb906... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/bafb9060bbdf958a1c15ba66c68531116fba4a83858a2796254da066@%3Cuser.cassandra.apache.org%3E

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-8016?
CVE-2018-8016 is a security vulnerability in Cassandra all involving Missing Authentication for Critical Function in Apache Cassandra under CWE-306: Missing Authentication for Critical Function.
Which Cassandra all versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3.11.2 across affected packages: org.apache.cassandra:cassandra-all.
What version fixes CVE-2018-8016?
Upgrading to 3.11.2 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is cassandra-all affected?
Yes, org.apache.cassandra:cassandra-all is affected in releases prior to 3.11.2. Upgrade your dependency to 3.11.2 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-8016?
CVE-2018-8016 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2018-8016?
CVE-2018-8016 is classified under CWE-306: Missing Authentication for Critical Function (The product does not perform any authentication for functionality that requires a provable user identity or consumes a significant amount of resources.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2018-8016?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.cassandra'. 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-52gq-7j6c-xw6x",
  "modified" : "2024-03-04T23:14:46Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-13T01:53:28Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-8016" ],
  "summary" : "Missing Authentication for Critical Function in Apache Cassandra",
  "details" : "The default configuration in Apache Cassandra 3.8 through 3.11.1 binds an unauthenticated JMX/RMI interface to all network interfaces, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary Java code via an RMI request. This issue is a regression of CVE-2015-0225. The regression was introduced in https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/CASSANDRA-12109. The fix for the regression is implemented in https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/CASSANDRA-14173. This fix is contained in the 3.11.2 release of Apache Cassandra.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.cassandra:cassandra-all"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3.8"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.11.2"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 3.11.1"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-8016"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/beobal/cassandra/commit/28ee665b3c0c9238b61a871064f024d54cddcc79"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/CASSANDRA-14173"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/bafb9060bbdf958a1c15ba66c68531116fba4a83858a2796254da066@%3Cuser.cassandra.apache.org%3E"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-306" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-06-29T18:54:45Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2018-06-28T16:29:00Z"
  }
}