CVE-2024-23689 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) CWE-209 vulnerability in com.clickhouse:clickhouse-client. 1 public exploit or proof-of-concept reference is indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for com.clickhouse:clickhouse-client — see the affected versions and patch details below.
ClickHouse Client Certificate Password Exposure
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-2024-23689.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
com.clickhouse:clickhouse-client☕com.clickhouse:clickhouse-jdbc☕com.clickhouse:clickhouse-r2dbcReal-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
Summary
As initially reported in issue #1331, when client certificate authentication is enabled with password protection, the password (referred to as the client option sslkey) may be exposed in client exceptions (e.g., ClickHouseException or SQLException). This vulnerability can potentially lead to unauthorized access, data breaches, and violations of user privacy.
Details
During the handling of ClickHouseException, the client certificate password may be inadvertently exposed when sslkey is specified. This issue can arise when an exception is thrown during the execution of a query or a database operation. The client certificate password is then included in the exception message, which could be logged or exposed to unauthorized parties.
Impact
This vulnerability enables an attacker with access to client exception error messages or logs to obtain client certificate passwords, potentially allowing unauthorized access to sensitive information, data manipulation, and denial of service attacks. The extent of the risk depends on the specific implementation and usage of the affected systems. However, any exposure of client certificate passwords should be treated as a high-priority security concern.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | com.clickhouse:clickhouse-client | all versions | 0.4.6com.clickhouse:clickhouse-client:0.4.6 |
| ☕Maven | com.clickhouse:clickhouse-jdbc | all versions | 0.4.6com.clickhouse:clickhouse-jdbc:0.4.6 |
| ☕Maven | com.clickhouse:clickhouse-r2dbc | all versions | 0.4.6com.clickhouse:clickhouse-r2dbc:0.4.6 |
Affected Products
java librariesclickhouseResearch use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for com.clickhouse:clickhouse-client, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update com.clickhouse:clickhouse-client to 0.4.6 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2024-23689 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Cap what an attacker can consume: apply request size, rate and timeout limits in front of the affected component, and run it with memory and CPU limits so exhaustion degrades one worker rather than the whole service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2024-23689 in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.