CVE-2019-14837: Keycloak core Keycloak Vulnerable To Unauthorized Login Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-cf8f-w2c5-p5jr
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CVSS 9.1
CWE-798 CWE-547
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2019-14837 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.1) keycloak vulnerable to unauthorized login vulnerability (CWE-798: Use of Hard-coded Credentials) affecting Keycloak core libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves keycloak vulnerable to unauthorized login via mail server setup. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 8.0.0.

CVE-2019-14837 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2019-14837
GHSA Identifier GHSA-cf8f-w2c5-p5jr
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.1
CWE Classification CWE-798: Use of Hard-coded Credentials
Affected Product Keycloak core
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.1

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:N).

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 None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2019-14837

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Keycloak core 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.keycloak:keycloak-core fixed: 8.0.0 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.keycloak</groupId>
    <artifactId>keycloak-core</artifactId>
    <version>8.0.0</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.keycloak

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2019-14837, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.keycloak

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Keycloak core in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 8.0.0), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.keycloak 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-798: Use of Hard-coded Credentials, where the product contains hard-coded credentials, such as a password or cryptographic key. In Keycloak core, 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

A flaw was found in keycloack before version 8.0.0. The owner of 'placeholder.org' domain can setup mail server on this domain and knowing only name of a client can reset password and then log in. For example, for client name 'test' the email address will be 'service-account-test@placeholder.org'.

CVE-2019-14837 Affected Keycloak core Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
8.0.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.keycloak:keycloak-core
maven/org.keycloak/keycloak-core
Maven
< 8.0.0
8.0.0

References

NVD — CVE-2019-14837 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-14837
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/commit/9a7c1a91a59ab85e7f8889a505be04a71580777f
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi WEB
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2019-14837
Keycloak core Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak
issues.jboss.org/browse/keycloak-107... WEB
https://issues.jboss.org/browse/KEYCLOAK-10780

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2019-14837?
CVE-2019-14837 is a security vulnerability in Keycloak core involving keycloak vulnerable to unauthorized login via mail server setup under CWE-798: Use of Hard-coded Credentials.
Which Keycloak core versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 8.0.0 across affected packages: org.keycloak:keycloak-core.
What version fixes CVE-2019-14837?
Upgrading to 8.0.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is keycloak-core affected?
Yes, org.keycloak:keycloak-core is affected in releases prior to 8.0.0. Upgrade your dependency to 8.0.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2019-14837?
CVE-2019-14837 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.1 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2019-14837?
CVE-2019-14837 is classified under CWE-798: Use of Hard-coded Credentials (The product contains hard-coded credentials, such as a password or cryptographic key.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2019-14837?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.keycloak'. 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-cf8f-w2c5-p5jr",
  "modified" : "2023-11-06T13:10:10Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-24T17:05:43Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2019-14837" ],
  "summary" : "keycloak vulnerable to unauthorized login via mail server setup",
  "details" : "A flaw was found in keycloack before version 8.0.0. The owner of 'placeholder.org' domain can setup mail server on this domain and knowing only name of a client can reset password and then log in. For example, for client name 'test' the email address will be 'service-account-test@placeholder.org'.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.keycloak:keycloak-core"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "8.0.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-14837"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak/commit/9a7c1a91a59ab85e7f8889a505be04a71580777f"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2019-14837"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/keycloak/keycloak"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://issues.jboss.org/browse/KEYCLOAK-10780"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-547", "CWE-798" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-09-12T16:51:57Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2020-01-07T17:15:00Z"
  }
}