CVE-2020-9491: Nifi Inadequate Encryption Strength Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-rfmp-jvr7-hx78
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-327
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-9491 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) inadequate encryption strength vulnerability (CWE-327: Use of a Broken or Risky Cryptographic Algorithm) affecting Nifi libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves inadequate encryption strength in apache nifi. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.12.0-RC1.

CVE-2020-9491 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-9491
GHSA Identifier GHSA-rfmp-jvr7-hx78
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-327: Use of a Broken or Risky Cryptographic Algorithm
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:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 None (I:N)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2020-9491

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: 1.12.0-RC1 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.nifi</groupId>
    <artifactId>nifi</artifactId>
    <version>1.12.0-RC1</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-2020-9491, 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 1.12.0-RC1), 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-327: Use of a Broken or Risky Cryptographic Algorithm, where the product uses a broken or risky cryptographic algorithm or protocol. 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

In Apache NiFi 1.2.0 to 1.11.4, the NiFi UI and API were protected by mandating TLS v1.2, as well as listening connections established by processors like ListenHTTP, HandleHttpRequest, etc. However intracluster communication such as cluster request replication, Site-to-Site, and load balanced queues continued to support TLS v1.0 or v1.1.

CVE-2020-9491 Affected Nifi Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.12.0-RC1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.apache.nifi:nifi
maven/org.apache.nifi/nifi
Maven
≥ 1.2.0
< 1.12.0-RC1
1.12.0-RC1

References

NVD — CVE-2020-9491 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-9491
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/apache/nifi/commit/441781cec50f77d9f1e65093f55bbd614b8c5ec6
Nifi Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/apache/nifi
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r2d9c21... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r2d9c21f9ec35d66f2bb42f8abe876dabd786166b6284e9a33582c718@%3Ccommits.nifi.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/re48582... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/re48582efe2ac973f8cff55c8b346825cb491c71935e15ab2d61ef3bf@%3Ccommits.nifi.apache.org%3E
Nifi Security Information SECURITY
https://nifi.apache.org/security#CVE-2020-9491

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-9491?
CVE-2020-9491 is a security vulnerability in Nifi involving Inadequate Encryption Strength in Apache NiFi under CWE-327: Use of a Broken or Risky Cryptographic Algorithm.
Which Nifi versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.12.0-RC1 across affected packages: org.apache.nifi:nifi.
What version fixes CVE-2020-9491?
Upgrading to 1.12.0-RC1 (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 1.12.0-RC1. Upgrade your dependency to 1.12.0-RC1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-9491?
CVE-2020-9491 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-9491?
CVE-2020-9491 is classified under CWE-327: Use of a Broken or Risky Cryptographic Algorithm (The product uses a broken or risky cryptographic algorithm or protocol.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2020-9491?
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-rfmp-jvr7-hx78",
  "modified" : "2022-04-29T20:27:44Z",
  "published" : "2022-01-06T20:41:06Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-9491" ],
  "summary" : "Inadequate Encryption Strength in Apache NiFi",
  "details" : "In Apache NiFi 1.2.0 to 1.11.4, the NiFi UI and API were protected by mandating TLS v1.2, as well as listening connections established by processors like ListenHTTP, HandleHttpRequest, etc. However intracluster communication such as cluster request replication, Site-to-Site, and load balanced queues continued to support TLS v1.0 or v1.1.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.nifi:nifi"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.2.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.12.0-RC1"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 1.11.4"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-9491"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/apache/nifi/commit/441781cec50f77d9f1e65093f55bbd614b8c5ec6"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/apache/nifi"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r2d9c21f9ec35d66f2bb42f8abe876dabd786166b6284e9a33582c718@%3Ccommits.nifi.apache.org%3E"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/re48582efe2ac973f8cff55c8b346825cb491c71935e15ab2d61ef3bf@%3Ccommits.nifi.apache.org%3E"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://nifi.apache.org/security#CVE-2020-9491"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-327" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-03-29T16:50:01Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2020-10-01T20:15:00Z"
  }
}