Detections
Analytics

SCA: security update for org.apache.kafka:kafka_2.12, org.apache.kafka:kafka_2.13 (GHSA-p7c9-8xx8-h74f)

medium Tenable Cloud Security Plugin ID 417372

Description

There are packages installed that are affected by a vulnerability referenced in the following CVE:

 - Incorrect Implementation of Authentication Algorithm in Apache Kafka's SCRAM implementation. Issue
 Summary: Apache Kafka's implementation of the Salted Challenge Response Authentication Mechanism (SCRAM)
 did not fully adhere to the requirements of RFC 5802 [1]. 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. Impact: This
 vulnerability is exploitable only when an attacker has plaintext access to the SCRAM authentication
 exchange. However, the usage of SCRAM over plaintext is strongly discouraged as it is considered an
 insecure practice [2]. Apache Kafka recommends deploying SCRAM exclusively with TLS encryption to protect
 SCRAM exchanges from interception [3]. Deployments using SCRAM with TLS are not affected by this issue.
 How to Detect If You Are Impacted: If your deployment uses SCRAM authentication over plaintext
 communication channels (without TLS encryption), you are likely impacted. To check if TLS is enabled,
 review your server.properties configuration file for listeners property. If you have SASL_PLAINTEXT in the
 listeners, then you are likely impacted. Fix Details: The issue has been addressed by introducing nonce
 verification in the final message of the SCRAM authentication exchange to ensure compliance with RFC 5802.
 Affected Versions: Apache Kafka versions 0.10.2.0 through 3.9.0, excluding the fixed versions below. Fixed
 Versions: 3.9.0 3.8.1 3.7.2 Users are advised to upgrade to 3.7.2 or later to mitigate this issue.
 Recommendations for Mitigation: Users unable to upgrade to the fixed versions can mitigate the issue by: -
 Using TLS with SCRAM Authentication: Always deploy SCRAM over TLS to encrypt authentication exchanges and
 protect against interception. - Considering Alternative Authentication Mechanisms: Evaluate alternative
 authentication mechanisms, such as PLAIN, Kerberos or OAuth with TLS, which provide additional layers of
 security. (CVE-2024-56128)

See Also

https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-p7c9-8xx8-h74f

Plugin Details

Severity: Medium

ID: 417372

Version: Revision 1.7

Type: Local

Family: SCA Checks

Published: 1/23/2025

Updated: 7/2/2026

Supported Sensors: Tenable Cloud Security, Tenable Self-Hosted Container Security

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Low

Score: 1.2

Percentile: 0.01

Vendor

Vendor Severity: Low

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: Medium

Base Score: 5

Temporal Score: 3.7

Vector: CVSS2#AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N

CVSS Score Source: CVE-2024-56128

CVSS v3

Risk Factor: Medium

Base Score: 5.3

Temporal Score: 4.6

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

Temporal Vector: CVSS:3.0/E:U/RL:O/RC:C

CVSS v4

Risk Factor: Medium

Base Score: 6.3

Threat Score: 1.7

Threat Vector: CVSS:4.0/E:U

Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Vulnerability Information

Exploit Ease: No known exploits are available

Patch Publication Date: 12/18/2024

Vulnerability Publication Date: 12/18/2024

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2024-56128

cwe: CWE-303