CVE-2023-44981
9.1 · CRITICALOverview
CVE-2023-44981 is a critical-severity vulnerability affecting apache zookeeper. It was published on October 11, 2023 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.1 (CRITICAL).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.1, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
Technical Description
Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability in Apache ZooKeeper. If SASL Quorum Peer authentication is enabled in ZooKeeper (quorum.auth.enableSasl=true), the authorization is done by verifying that the instance part in SASL authentication ID is listed in zoo.cfg server list. The instance part in SASL auth ID is optional and if it's missing, like '[email protected]', the authorization check will be skipped. As a result an arbitrary endpoint could join the cluster and begin propagating counterfeit changes to the leader, essentially giving it complete read-write access to the data tree. Quorum Peer authentication is not enabled by default.
Users are recommended to upgrade to version 3.9.1, 3.8.3, 3.7.2, which fixes the issue.
Alternately ensure the ensemble election/quorum communication is protected by a firewall as this will mitigate the issue.
See the documentation for more details on correct cluster administration.
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from apache. Update zookeeper to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| apache | zookeeper | >= 0, < 3.7.2 | Affected |
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2023-44981?
CVE-2023-44981 is a critical-severity vulnerability affecting apache zookeeper. It was published on October 11, 2023 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.1 (CRITICAL).
How severe is CVE-2023-44981?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.1, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2023-44981?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from apache. Update zookeeper to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2023-44981?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2023-44981 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
How CyberStrike Helps
AI agents map your attack surface to find vulnerabilities like this one.
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