CVE-2018-8023: Mesos Mesos Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-c8cc-p3j7-4c7f
CVSS 5.9
CWE-200
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-8023 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.9) mesos vulnerability (CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor) affecting Mesos libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves mesos. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.4.2, 1.5.2, 1.6.1.

CVE-2018-8023 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-8023
GHSA Identifier GHSA-c8cc-p3j7-4c7f
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.9
CWE Classification CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor
Affected Product Mesos
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.9

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

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity High (AC:H)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
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-2018-8023

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Mesos 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.mesos:mesos fixed: 1.4.2
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.mesos</groupId>
    <artifactId>mesos</artifactId>
    <version>1.4.2</version>
</dependency>
org.apache.mesos:mesos fixed: 1.5.2
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.mesos</groupId>
    <artifactId>mesos</artifactId>
    <version>1.5.2</version>
</dependency>
org.apache.mesos:mesos fixed: 1.6.1
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.mesos</groupId>
    <artifactId>mesos</artifactId>
    <version>1.6.1</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.mesos

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2018-8023, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

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

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Mesos in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.4.2), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.mesos 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-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor, where the product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information. In Mesos, 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

Apache Mesos can be configured to require authentication to call the Executor HTTP API using JSON Web Token (JWT). In Apache Mesos versions pre-1.4.2, 1.5.0, 1.5.1, 1.6.0 the comparison of the generated HMAC value against the provided signature in the JWT implementation used is vulnerable to a timing attack because instead of a constant-time string comparison routine a standard `==` operator has been used. A malicious actor can therefore abuse the timing difference of when the JWT validation function returns to reveal the correct HMAC value.

CVE-2018-8023 Affected Mesos Versions

3 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.4.21.5.21.6.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.apache.mesos:mesos
Maven
< 1.4.2
1.4.2
org.apache.mesos:mesos
Maven
≥ 1.5.0
< 1.5.2
1.5.2
org.apache.mesos:mesos
Maven
≥ 1.6.0
< 1.6.1
1.6.1

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-8023?
CVE-2018-8023 is a security vulnerability in Mesos involving mesos under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor.
Which Mesos versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.4.2, 1.5.2, 1.6.1 across affected packages: org.apache.mesos:mesos.
What version fixes CVE-2018-8023?
Upgrading to 1.4.2, 1.5.2, 1.6.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is mesos affected?
Yes, org.apache.mesos:mesos is affected in releases prior to 1.4.2, 1.5.2, 1.6.1. Upgrade your dependency to 1.4.2, 1.5.2, 1.6.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-8023?
CVE-2018-8023 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.9 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2018-8023?
CVE-2018-8023 is classified under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor (The product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2018-8023?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.mesos'. 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
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-c8cc-p3j7-4c7f",
  "modified" : "2021-09-08T21:43:33Z",
  "published" : "2018-10-17T19:54:14Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-8023" ],
  "summary" : "Moderate severity vulnerability that affects org.apache.mesos:mesos",
  "details" : "Apache Mesos can be configured to require authentication to call the Executor HTTP API using JSON Web Token (JWT). In Apache Mesos versions pre-1.4.2, 1.5.0, 1.5.1, 1.6.0 the comparison of the generated HMAC value against the provided signature in the JWT implementation used is vulnerable to a timing attack because instead of a constant-time string comparison routine a standard `==` operator has been used. A malicious actor can therefore abuse the timing difference of when the JWT validation function returns to reveal the correct HMAC value.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.mesos:mesos"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.4.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.mesos:mesos"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.5.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.5.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.mesos:mesos"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.6.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.6.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-8023"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-c8cc-p3j7-4c7f"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/9b9d3f6bd09f3ebd2284b82077033bdc71da550a1c4c010c2494acc3@%3Cdev.mesos.apache.org%3E"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r0dd7ff197b2e3bdd80a0326587ca3d0c22e10d1dba17c769d6da7d7a@%3Cuser.flink.apache.org%3E"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-200" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-06-16T21:30:32Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}