CVE-2022-34917
HIGHCVE-2022-34917 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-789 vulnerability in org.apache.kafka:kafka. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2022-34917 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Unauthenticated clients may cause OutOfMemoryError on Apache Kafka Brokers
Blast Radius
org.apache.kafka:kafka☕org.apache.kafka:kafka☕org.apache.kafka:kafka☕org.apache.kafka:kafkaReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
A security vulnerability has been identified in Apache Kafka. It affects all releases since 2.8.0. The vulnerability allows malicious unauthenticated clients to allocate large amounts of memory on brokers. This can lead to brokers hitting OutOfMemoryException and causing denial of service. Example scenarios: - Kafka cluster without authentication: Any clients able to establish a network connection to a broker can trigger the issue. - Kafka cluster with SASL authentication: Any clients able to establish a network connection to a broker, without the need for valid SASL credentials, can trigger the issue. - Kafka cluster with TLS authentication: Only clients able to successfully authenticate via TLS can trigger the issue. We advise the users to upgrade the Kafka installations to one of the 3.2.3, 3.1.2, 3.0.2, 2.8.2 versions.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.apache.kafka:kafka | ≥ 2.8.0&&< 2.8.2 | 2.8.2 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.kafka:kafka | ≥ 3.0.0&&< 3.0.2 | 3.0.2 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.kafka:kafka | ≥ 3.1.0&&< 3.1.2 | 3.1.2 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.kafka:kafka | ≥ 3.2.0&&< 3.2.3 | 3.2.3 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.kafka:kafka. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update org.apache.kafka:kafka to 2.8.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-34917 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2022-34917 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2022-34917. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2022-34917 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2022-34917 across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.