CVE-2017-12610: Kafka clients Improper Authentication Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-xm78-4m3g-7wm7
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CVSS 6.8
CWE-287
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2017-12610 is a MODERATE (CVSS 6.8) improper authentication vulnerability (CWE-287: Improper Authentication) affecting Kafka clients libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves improper authentication in apache kafka. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.10.2.2, 0.11.0.2.

CVE-2017-12610 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2017-12610
GHSA Identifier GHSA-xm78-4m3g-7wm7
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 6.8
CWE Classification CWE-287: Improper Authentication
Affected Product Kafka clients
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 6.8

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

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity High (AC:H)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
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-2017-12610

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected 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: 0.10.2.2 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.kafka</groupId>
    <artifactId>kafka-clients</artifactId>
    <version>0.10.2.2</version>
</dependency>
org.apache.kafka:kafka-clients fixed: 0.11.0.2 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.kafka</groupId>
    <artifactId>kafka-clients</artifactId>
    <version>0.11.0.2</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.kafka

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2017-12610, 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 Kafka clients in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.10.2.2), 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-287: Improper Authentication, where when an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct. In 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

In Apache Kafka 0.10.0.0 to 0.10.2.1 and 0.11.0.0 to 0.11.0.1, authenticated Kafka clients may use impersonation via a manually crafted protocol message with SASL/PLAIN or SASL/SCRAM authentication when using the built-in PLAIN or SCRAM server implementations in Apache Kafka.

CVE-2017-12610 Affected Kafka clients Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.10.2.20.11.0.2
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.apache.kafka:kafka-clients
maven/org.apache.kafka/kafka-clients
Maven
≥ 0.10.0.0
< 0.10.2.2
0.10.2.2
org.apache.kafka:kafka-clients
maven/org.apache.kafka/kafka-clients
Maven
≥ 0.11.0.0
< 0.11.0.2
0.11.0.2

References

NVD — CVE-2017-12610 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-12610
lists.apache.org/thread.html/519eb0f... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/519eb0fd45642dcecd9ff74cb3e71c20a4753f7d82e2f07864b5108f@%3Cdev.drill.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/b0656d3... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/b0656d359c7d40ec9f39c8cc61bca66802ef9a2a12ee199f5b0c1442@%3Cdev.drill.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/b6157be... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/b6157be1a09df332294213bd21e90dcf9fe4c1810193be54620e4210@%3Cusers.kafka.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/f9bc3e5... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/f9bc3e55f4e28d1dcd1a69aae6d53e609a758e34d2869b4d798e13cc@%3Cissues.drill.apache.org%3E
Kafka clients Security Information SECURITY
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2020.html
Kafka clients Security Information SECURITY
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/104899

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2017-12610?
CVE-2017-12610 is a security vulnerability in Kafka clients involving Improper Authentication in Apache Kafka under CWE-287: Improper Authentication.
Which Kafka clients versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.10.2.2, 0.11.0.2 across affected packages: org.apache.kafka:kafka-clients.
What version fixes CVE-2017-12610?
Upgrading to 0.10.2.2, 0.11.0.2 (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 0.10.2.2, 0.11.0.2. Upgrade your dependency to 0.10.2.2, 0.11.0.2 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2017-12610?
CVE-2017-12610 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.8 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2017-12610?
CVE-2017-12610 is classified under CWE-287: Improper Authentication (When an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2017-12610?
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-xm78-4m3g-7wm7",
  "modified" : "2022-07-01T21:23:20Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-13T01:25:19Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2017-12610" ],
  "summary" : "Improper Authentication in Apache Kafka",
  "details" : "In Apache Kafka 0.10.0.0 to 0.10.2.1 and 0.11.0.0 to 0.11.0.1, authenticated Kafka clients may use impersonation via a manually crafted protocol message with SASL/PLAIN or SASL/SCRAM authentication when using the built-in PLAIN or SCRAM server implementations in Apache Kafka.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.kafka:kafka-clients"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0.10.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.10.2.2"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 0.10.2.1"
    }
  }, {
    "package" : {
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    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0.11.0.0"
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      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 0.11.0.1"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-12610"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/519eb0fd45642dcecd9ff74cb3e71c20a4753f7d82e2f07864b5108f@%3Cdev.drill.apache.org%3E"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/b0656d359c7d40ec9f39c8cc61bca66802ef9a2a12ee199f5b0c1442@%3Cdev.drill.apache.org%3E"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/b6157be1a09df332294213bd21e90dcf9fe4c1810193be54620e4210@%3Cusers.kafka.apache.org%3E"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/f9bc3e55f4e28d1dcd1a69aae6d53e609a758e34d2869b4d798e13cc@%3Cissues.drill.apache.org%3E"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2020.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/104899"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-287" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-07-01T21:23:20Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2018-07-26T14:29:00Z"
  }
}