CVE-2018-17195: Nifi Cleartext Transmission Of Sensitive Information Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-3jq8-jg75-rqv6
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-319 CWE-863
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-17195 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) cleartext transmission of sensitive information vulnerability (CWE-319: Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information) affecting Nifi libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves cleartext transmission of sensitive information in apache nifi. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.8.0.

CVE-2018-17195 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-17195
GHSA Identifier GHSA-3jq8-jg75-rqv6
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-319: Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information
Affected Product Nifi
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

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:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

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

How to Fix CVE-2018-17195

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Nifi 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.nifi:nifi fixed: 1.8.0 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.nifi</groupId>
    <artifactId>nifi</artifactId>
    <version>1.8.0</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.apache.nifi

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2018-17195, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

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

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Nifi in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.8.0), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.nifi 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-319: Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information, where the product transmits sensitive or security-critical data in cleartext in a communication channel that can be sniffed by unauthorized actors. In Nifi, 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 template upload API endpoint accepted requests from different domain when sent in conjunction with ARP spoofing + man in the middle (MiTM) attack, resulting in a CSRF attack. The required attack vector is complex, requiring a scenario with client certificate authentication, same subnet access, and injecting malicious code into an unprotected (plaintext HTTP) website which the targeted user later visits, but the possible damage warranted a Severe severity level. Mitigation: The fix to apply Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) policy request filtering was applied on the Apache NiFi 1.8.0 release. Users running a prior 1.x release should upgrade to the appropriate release.

CVE-2018-17195 Affected Nifi Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.8.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.apache.nifi:nifi
maven/org.apache.nifi/nifi
Maven
≥ 1.0.0
< 1.8.0
1.8.0

References

NVD — CVE-2018-17195 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-17195
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/apache/nifi/commit/246c090526143943557b15868db6e8fe3fb30cf6
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-3jq8-jg75-rqv6
issues.apache.org/jira/browse/nifi-55... WEB
https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/NIFI-5595
Nifi Security Information SECURITY
https://nifi.apache.org/security.html#CVE-2018-17195

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-17195?
CVE-2018-17195 is a security vulnerability in Nifi involving Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information in Apache nifi under CWE-319: Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information.
Which Nifi versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.8.0 across affected packages: org.apache.nifi:nifi.
What version fixes CVE-2018-17195?
Upgrading to 1.8.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is nifi affected?
Yes, org.apache.nifi:nifi is affected in releases prior to 1.8.0. Upgrade your dependency to 1.8.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-17195?
CVE-2018-17195 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2018-17195?
CVE-2018-17195 is classified under CWE-319: Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information (The product transmits sensitive or security-critical data in cleartext in a communication channel that can be sniffed by unauthorized actors.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2018-17195?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.nifi'. 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-3jq8-jg75-rqv6",
  "modified" : "2024-03-04T22:06:28Z",
  "published" : "2018-12-20T22:02:45Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-17195" ],
  "summary" : "Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information in Apache nifi",
  "details" : "The template upload API endpoint accepted requests from different domain when sent in conjunction with ARP spoofing + man in the middle (MiTM) attack, resulting in a CSRF attack. The required attack vector is complex, requiring a scenario with client certificate authentication, same subnet access, and injecting malicious code into an unprotected (plaintext HTTP) website which the targeted user later visits, but the possible damage warranted a Severe severity level. Mitigation: The fix to apply Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) policy request filtering was applied on the Apache NiFi 1.8.0 release. Users running a prior 1.x release should upgrade to the appropriate release.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.nifi:nifi"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.8.0"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 1.7.1"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-17195"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/apache/nifi/commit/246c090526143943557b15868db6e8fe3fb30cf6"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-3jq8-jg75-rqv6"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/NIFI-5595"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://nifi.apache.org/security.html#CVE-2018-17195"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-319", "CWE-863" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-06-16T20:55:22Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}