CVE-2024-56128
Description
A flaw was found in Apache Kafka's implementation of the Salted Challenge Response Authentication Mechanism (SCRAM), which did not fully adhere to the requirements of RFC 5802. Specifically, as per RFC 5802, the server must verify that the nonce sent by the client in the second message matches the nonce sent by the server in its first message. However, Kafka's SCRAM implementation did not perform this validation. In environments where SCRAM is operated over plaintext communication channels, an attacker with access to the exchange can intercept and potentially reuse authentication messages, leveraging the weak nonce validation to gain unauthorized access.
Statement
This vulnerability is marked with an Important severity because it compromises a fundamental security requirement of the SCRAM protocol as specified in RFC 5802 —the validation of nonces for ensuring message integrity and preventing replay attacks. Without proper nonce validation, an attacker with plaintext access to the SCRAM authentication exchange could manipulate or replay parts of the authentication process, potentially gaining unauthorized access or disrupting the integrity of authentication. While the use of plaintext communication for SCRAM is discouraged, many legacy systems or misconfigured deployments may still rely on it, making them directly susceptible.
Mitigation
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 7.4 | N/A | 5.3 |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | Network |
| Attack Complexity | High | N/A | Low |
| Privileges Required | None | N/A | None |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | High | N/A | Low |
| Integrity Impact | High | N/A | None |
| Availability Impact | None | N/A | None |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Access Control
Technical Impact: Bypass Protection Mechanism
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