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CVE-2023-44981 — Vulnerability in org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper —...

CRITICAL

Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability in Apache ZooKeeper

Published October 11, 2023Updated September 10, 2026Source: osv

Summary

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 'eve@EXAMPLE.COM', 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.

Advisory Timeline

  • First published October 11, 2023 (1097 days ago).
  • Last revised September 10, 2026 — 1065 days after initial publication.

Remediation

Upgrade to the fixed version using your package manager.

Maven
Update org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper to 3.9.1 or later
<!-- Update pom.xml dependency version to 3.9.1 for org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper -->
Maven
Update org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper to 3.7.2 or later
<!-- Update pom.xml dependency version to 3.7.2 for org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper -->
Maven
Update org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper to 3.8.3 or later
<!-- Update pom.xml dependency version to 3.8.3 for org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper -->

After upgrading, run your dependency scanner again to confirm the vulnerability is resolved.

Affected Packages (3)

Affects 1 ecosystem: maven (1).

PackageEcosystemAffectedFixed In
org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper
maven
3.9.03.9.1
org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper
maven
3.3.0, 3.3.1, 3.3.2, 3.3.3 (+36 more)3.7.2
org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper
maven
3.8.0, 3.8.1, 3.8.23.8.3

Vulnerability Classification

Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) identifiers for this vulnerability type.

  • CWE-639
    Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR)MITRE

CVSS Score Breakdown

What the CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) 9.1 score means for each attack dimension.

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-44981?
Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability in Apache ZooKeeper This vulnerability has been assigned a severity rating of CRITICAL (CVSS score: 9.1/10).
How do I check if my project is affected by CVE-2023-44981?
CVE-2023-44981 affects org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper. Use GeekWala's free vulnerability scanner to check your dependencies against CVE-2023-44981 and 200,000+ other known vulnerabilities.

Severity & Exploitability

CVSS Score
9.1

Exploitation is straightforward and causes maximum impact. Patch immediately.

Also Known As

GHSA-7286-pgfv-vxvh
BIT-zookeeper-2023-44981

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