Description
Improper Authorization vulnerability in Apache ZooKeeper.
When SASL authentication is enabled on the client port, the server's SASL callback handler grants every authorization identity (authzid) that a client requests, without checking it against the principal the client authenticated as. The server then tries to replace the requested identity with a canonical form of the authenticated principal, derived from the zookeeper.security.auth_to_local rules. If no rule applies to the principal, canonicalization fails and the error is only logged. The client-requested authzid then becomes the session's SASL identity for all ACL checks.
An authenticated client whose principal is not covered by the auth_to_local rules can therefore claim any SASL identity. With the default rules, this includes any Kerberos principal from a realm other than the server's default realm, such as a principal from a cross-realm trusted realm. The client then gets the permissions granted to that identity in sasl ACLs. If the requested identity matches a configured zookeeper.superUser, it gets superuser access to the whole data tree.
Users are recommended to upgrade to version 3.8.8 or 3.9.7, which fixes the issue.
Metrics
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:XWeakness enumeration
Affected software
Source: the vendor's advisory (CNA). NVD analysis pending.
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Apache Software Foundation | Apache ZooKeeper | >= 3.9.0, <= 3.9.6; >= 3.8.0, <= 3.8.7 |
References
Timeline
- Published
- Nov 4, 2026
- Last modified
- Nov 5, 2026
- NVD status
- Awaiting Analysis