How severe is CVE-2023-25194?

CVE-2023-25194 has a CVSS score of 8.8/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2023-25194?

CVE-2023-25194 affects the following packages: org.apache.kafka:connect (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix CVE-2023-25194?

Update org.apache.kafka:connect to 3.4.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-25194 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2023-25194 in my Maven dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.kafka:connect, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2023-25194 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Do not deserialise data from untrusted sources: where the format allows it, restrict deserialisation to an explicit allowlist of expected types, and prefer a data-only format (JSON, Protobuf) over one that can reconstruct arbitrary objects until you can upgrade.

Is CVE-2023-25194 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 6 known exploit references for CVE-2023-25194, including 4 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2023-25194?

CVE-2023-25194 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 95.8%, placing it in the 100th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A score above 50% indicates significantly elevated exploitation risk — immediate patching is strongly recommended.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2023-25194?

CVE-2023-25194 is classified as Deserialization of Untrusted Data (CWE-502). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

Is there exploit tooling available for CVE-2023-25194?

A Nuclei detection template exists for CVE-2023-25194, meaning automated scanners can fingerprint it. Public exploit tooling significantly increases real-world risk — prioritize patching and ensure detection coverage. Exploit tooling should only ever be used in isolated, authorized testing environments.

When was CVE-2023-25194 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2023-25194 was published on February 7, 2023 and was last updated on July 7, 2025. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

☕

☕ Maven

Not in CISA KEV

HIGH severity

CVE-2023-25194 — connect

HIGH

CVE-2023-25194 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in org.apache.kafka:connect. 6 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for org.apache.kafka:connect — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Apache Kafka Connect vulnerable to Deserialization of Untrusted Data

Published

Feb 7, 2023

Updated

Jul 7, 2025

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

6 known

Exploitation data as of Oct 23, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

Proof-of-concept exploit code exists

CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2023-25194.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

95.8%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Very High Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs100th percentile — riskier than 100% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2023-25194 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). In the shaded patch-first corner (EPSS 50%+, CVSS 7.0+).

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 395,249 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the ≥ 90% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

☕org.apache.kafka:connect

Real-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 possible security vulnerability has been identified in Apache Kafka Connect API. This requires access to a Kafka Connect worker, and the ability to create/modify connectors on it with an arbitrary Kafka client SASL JAAS config and a SASL-based security protocol, which has been possible on Kafka Connect clusters since Apache Kafka Connect 2.3.0. When configuring the connector via the Kafka Connect REST API, an authenticated operator can set the sasl.jaas.config property for any of the connector's Kafka clients to "com.sun.security.auth.module.JndiLoginModule", which can be done via the producer.override.sasl.jaas.config, consumer.override.sasl.jaas.config, or admin.override.sasl.jaas.config properties. This will allow the server to connect to the attacker's LDAP server and deserialize the LDAP response, which the attacker can use to execute java deserialization gadget chains on the Kafka connect server. Attacker can cause unrestricted deserialization of untrusted data (or) RCE vulnerability when there are gadgets in the classpath.

Since Apache Kafka 3.0.0, users are allowed to specify these properties in connector configurations for Kafka Connect clusters running with out-of-the-box configurations. Before Apache Kafka 3.0.0, users may not specify these properties unless the Kafka Connect cluster has been reconfigured with a connector client override policy that permits them.

Since Apache Kafka 3.4.0, we have added a system property ("-Dorg.apache.kafka.disallowed.login.modules") to disable the problematic login modules usage in SASL JAAS configuration. Also by default "com.sun.security.auth.module.JndiLoginModule" is disabled in Apache Kafka Connect 3.4.0.

We advise the Kafka Connect users to validate connector configurations and only allow trusted JNDI configurations. Also examine connector dependencies for vulnerable versions and either upgrade their connectors, upgrading that specific dependency, or removing the connectors as options for remediation. Finally, in addition to leveraging the "org.apache.kafka.disallowed.login.modules" system property, Kafka Connect users can also implement their own connector client config override policy, which can be used to control which Kafka client properties can be overridden directly in a connector config and which cannot.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`org.apache.kafka:connect`	≥ 2.3.0&&< 3.4.0	3.4.0`org.apache.kafka:connect:3.4.0`

Affected Products

1 product · 1 configurations

Application

kafka connectapache

≥ 2.3.0 && ≤ 3.3.2

range

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

A possible security vulnerability has been identified in Apache Kafka Co…

github.comGithubFeb 2023

A possible security vulnerability has been identified in Apache Kafka Co…

github.comGithubMay 2023

A possible security vulnerability has been identified in Apache Kafka Co…

github.comMetasploitJun 2023

A possible security vulnerability has been identified in Apache Kafka Co…

1665891.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.netAPIMay 2024

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.kafka:connect, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.apache.kafka:connect to 3.4.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-25194 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Do not deserialise data from untrusted sources: where the format allows it, restrict deserialisation to an explicit allowlist of expected types, and prefer a data-only format (JSON, Protobuf) over one that can reconstruct arbitrary objects until you can upgrade.

How to detect CVE-2023-25194

A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:

nuclei -id cve-2023-25194 -u https://target

Template: Apache Druid Kafka Connect - Remote Code Execution
Severity: high
Impact: Authenticated attackers can exploit unsafe deserialization in the Kafka Connect REST API to execute arbitrary code through JNDI injection, potentially compromising the entire Apache Druid data analytics infrastructure.
Remediation: Apply Apache Druid security patches that validate and sanitize SASL JAAS configuration in Kafka connector settings to prevent JNDI injection attacks.

Template by ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates (j4vaovo), MIT licensed. View the full template. Scan only systems you are authorised to test.

Fixing This On Your OS

If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.

Red HatImportant

RHSA-2023:1241Red Hat AMQ Streams 2.2.1 RHSA-2023:3223Red Hat AMQ Streams 2.4.0

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2023-25194 in your dependencies?

Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works

CVSS Score

8.8/10CVSS v3 base

Vector breakdown

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Raw vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE Classification

CWE-502Deserialization of Untrusted Data

Weaponization

OpenSSF Scorecard

Package health score

kafka

6.1/10

Code-Review10/10

Maintained10/10

Branch-Protection4/10

Assessed Oct 19, 2026

Timeline

Disclosed

Feb 7, 2023

First exploit

Feb 9, 2023

2 days after disclosure — rapid exploitation

Last updated

Jul 7, 2025

Identifiers

CVE-2023-25194

References

Advisorynvd.nist.gov Webhackerone.com Webkafka.apache.org Weblists.apache.org Webpacketstormsecurity.com Packagegithub.com

Related vulnerabilities

This CVE is high severity; 6 of 8 other CVEs with CWE-502 are rated as high or higher (top: critical).

GHSA-673q-mjm6-r5xrCVE-2026-70035CVE-2026-83520CVE-2026-87697CVE-2026-106558CVE-2026-83557GHSA-2jx3-ff3v-j7jjCVE-2025-66455Browse all CWE-502

Provenance

Sources

OSV.devNVDFIRST.org (EPSS)

Last verifiedJul 7, 2025

CVE-2023-25194 — connect

Exploitation Status

Proof-of-concept exploit code exists

EPSS Exploitation Probability

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

Description

Affected Packages

Affected Products

Detection & mitigation playbook

Detect

Fix

Workarounds

How to detect CVE-2023-25194

Fixing This On Your OS

Frequently Asked Questions

Is CVE-2023-25194 in your dependencies?