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Unity Linux 20.1050e / 20.1060e / 20.1070e Security Update: kafka (UTSA-2026-150479)
medium Nessus Plugin ID 376590
Synopsis
The Unity Linux host is missing one or more security updates.Description
The Unity Linux 20 host has a package installed that is affected by a vulnerability as referenced in the UTSA-2026-150479 advisory.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.
Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the Unity Linux security advisory.
Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.
Solution
Update the affected kafka package.See Also
https://atomgit.com/src-openeuler/kafka/issues/18
https://gitee.com/src-openeuler/kafka/issues/IBC8SO
Plugin Details
Severity: Medium
ID: 376590
File Name: unity_linux_UTSA-2026-150479.nasl
Version: 1.1
Type: Local
Published: 11/5/2026
Updated: 11/5/2026
Supported Sensors: Nessus
Risk Information
VPR
Risk Factor: Low
Score: 1.2
Percentile: 0.01
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
Required KB Items: Host/local_checks_enabled, Host/UOS-Server/release, Host/UOS-Server/rpm-list, Host/cpu
Exploit Ease: No known exploits are available
Patch Publication Date: 11/5/2026
Vulnerability Publication Date: 12/18/2024
Reference Information
CVE: CVE-2024-56128