CVE-2022-34321: Apache Pulsar Improper Authentication For Pulsar Proxy Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-c35h-w8hj-mm55
CVSS 8.2
CWE-306
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2022-34321 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.2) improper authentication for pulsar proxy vulnerability (CWE-306: Missing Authentication for Critical Function) affecting Apache Pulsar libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves improper authentication for pulsar proxy statistics endpoint. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.10.6, 2.11.3, 3.0.2, 3.1.1.

CVE-2022-34321 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2022-34321
GHSA Identifier GHSA-c35h-w8hj-mm55
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.2
CWE Classification CWE-306: Missing Authentication for Critical Function
Affected Product Apache Pulsar
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.2

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:L/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 Low (I:L)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2022-34321

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Apache Pulsar 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.pulsar:pulsar-proxy fixed: 2.10.6
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.pulsar</groupId>
    <artifactId>pulsar-proxy</artifactId>
    <version>2.10.6</version>
</dependency>
org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-proxy fixed: 2.11.3
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.pulsar</groupId>
    <artifactId>pulsar-proxy</artifactId>
    <version>2.11.3</version>
</dependency>
org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-proxy fixed: 3.0.2
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.pulsar</groupId>
    <artifactId>pulsar-proxy</artifactId>
    <version>3.0.2</version>
</dependency>
org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-proxy fixed: 3.1.1
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.pulsar</groupId>
    <artifactId>pulsar-proxy</artifactId>
    <version>3.1.1</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.pulsar

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2022-34321, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

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

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Apache Pulsar in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.10.6), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.pulsar 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-306: Missing Authentication for Critical Function, where the product does not perform any authentication for functionality that requires a provable user identity or consumes a significant amount of resources. In Apache Pulsar, 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

Improper Authentication vulnerability in Apache Pulsar Proxy allows an attacker to connect to the /proxy-stats endpoint without authentication. The vulnerable endpoint exposes detailed statistics about live connections, along with the capability to modify the logging level of proxied connections without requiring proper authentication credentials. This issue affects Apache Pulsar versions from 2.6.0 to 2.10.5, from 2.11.0 to 2.11.2, from 3.0.0 to 3.0.1, and 3.1.0. The known risks include exposing sensitive information such as connected client IP and unauthorized logging level manipulation which could lead to a denial-of-service condition by significantly increasing the proxy's logging overhead. When deployed via the Apache Pulsar Helm chart within Kubernetes environments, the actual client IP might not be revealed through the load balancer's default behavior, which typically obscures the original source IP addresses when externalTrafficPolicy is being configured to "Cluster" by default. The /proxy-stats endpoint contains topic level statistics, however, in the default configuration, the topic level statistics aren't known to be exposed. 2.10 Pulsar Proxy users should upgrade to at least 2.10.6. 2.11 Pulsar Proxy users should upgrade to at least 2.11.3. 3.0 Pulsar Proxy users should upgrade to at least 3.0.2. 3.1 Pulsar Proxy users should upgrade to at least 3.1.1. Users operating versions prior to those listed above should upgrade to the aforementioned patched versions or newer versions. Additionally, it's imperative to recognize that the Apache Pulsar Proxy is not intended for direct exposure to the internet. The architectural design of Pulsar Proxy assumes that it will operate within a secured network environment, safeguarded by appropriate perimeter defenses.

CVE-2022-34321 Affected Apache Pulsar Versions

4 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.10.62.11.33.0.23.1.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-proxy
Maven
≥ 2.6.0
< 2.10.6
2.10.6
org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-proxy
Maven
≥ 2.11.0
< 2.11.3
2.11.3
org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-proxy
Maven
≥ 3.0.0
< 3.0.2
3.0.2
org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-proxy
Maven
≥ 3.1.0
< 3.1.1
3.1.1

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2022-34321?
CVE-2022-34321 is a security vulnerability in Apache Pulsar involving Improper Authentication for Pulsar Proxy Statistics Endpoint under CWE-306: Missing Authentication for Critical Function.
Which Apache Pulsar versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.10.6, 2.11.3, 3.0.2, 3.1.1 across affected packages: org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-proxy.
What version fixes CVE-2022-34321?
Upgrading to 2.10.6, 2.11.3, 3.0.2, 3.1.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is pulsar-proxy affected?
Yes, org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-proxy is affected in releases prior to 2.10.6, 2.11.3, 3.0.2, 3.1.1. Upgrade your dependency to 2.10.6, 2.11.3, 3.0.2, 3.1.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2022-34321?
CVE-2022-34321 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.2 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2022-34321?
CVE-2022-34321 is classified under CWE-306: Missing Authentication for Critical Function (The product does not perform any authentication for functionality that requires a provable user identity or consumes a significant amount of resources.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2022-34321?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.pulsar'. 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-c35h-w8hj-mm55",
  "modified" : "2025-01-22T18:46:22Z",
  "published" : "2024-03-12T21:30:59Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2022-34321" ],
  "summary" : "Apache Pulsar: Improper Authentication for Pulsar Proxy Statistics Endpoint",
  "details" : "Improper Authentication vulnerability in Apache Pulsar Proxy allows an attacker to connect to the /proxy-stats endpoint without authentication. The vulnerable endpoint exposes detailed statistics about live connections, along with the capability to modify the logging level of proxied connections without requiring proper authentication credentials.\n\nThis issue affects Apache Pulsar versions from 2.6.0 to 2.10.5, from 2.11.0 to 2.11.2, from 3.0.0 to 3.0.1, and 3.1.0.\n\nThe known risks include exposing sensitive information such as connected client IP and unauthorized logging level manipulation which could lead to a denial-of-service condition by significantly increasing the proxy's logging overhead. When deployed via the Apache Pulsar Helm chart within Kubernetes environments, the actual client IP might not be revealed through the load balancer's default behavior, which typically obscures the original source IP addresses when externalTrafficPolicy is being configured to \"Cluster\" by default. The /proxy-stats endpoint contains topic level statistics, however, in the default configuration, the topic level statistics aren't known to be exposed.\n\n2.10 Pulsar Proxy users should upgrade to at least 2.10.6.\n2.11 Pulsar Proxy users should upgrade to at least 2.11.3.\n3.0 Pulsar Proxy users should upgrade to at least 3.0.2.\n3.1 Pulsar Proxy users should upgrade to at least 3.1.1.\n\nUsers operating versions prior to those listed above should upgrade to the aforementioned patched versions or newer versions. Additionally, it's imperative to recognize that the Apache Pulsar Proxy is not intended for direct exposure to the internet. The architectural design of Pulsar Proxy assumes that it will operate within a secured network environment, safeguarded by appropriate perimeter defenses.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-proxy"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.6.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.10.6"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 2.10.5"
    }
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-proxy"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.11.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.11.3"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 2.11.2"
    }
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-proxy"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.0.2"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 3.0.1"
    }
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-proxy"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3.1.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.1.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-34321"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/apache/pulsar"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread/ods5tq2hpl390hvjnvxv0bcg4rfpgjj8"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://pulsar.apache.org/security/CVE-2022-34321"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2024/03/12/8"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-306" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2024-03-13T21:58:52Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2024-03-12T19:15:47Z"
  }
}