GHSA-2hmj-97jw-28jh is a medium-severity (CVSS 4.3) CWE-280 vulnerability in org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper. A fix is available for org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Apache ZooKeeper: Insufficient Permission Check in AdminServer Snapshot/Restore Commands
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-2hmj-97jw-28jh.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
GHSA-2hmj-97jw-28jh plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,636 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeperReal-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
Improper permission checks in the AdminServer allow an authenticated client with insufficient privileges to invoke the snapshot and restore commands. The intended requirement is authentication and authorization on the root path (/) with ALL permission for these operations; however, affected versions permit invocation without that level of authorization. The primary risk is disclosure of cluster state via snapshots to a lesser-privileged client.
- Affected:
org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper3.9.0 through 3.9.3. - Fixed: 3.9.4 (ZOOKEEPER-4964 “check permissions individually during admin server auth”).
- Mitigations:
- Disable both commands (
admin.snapshot.enabled,admin.restore.enabled). - Disable AdminServer (
admin.enableServer). - Ensure the root ACL is not open; note that ZooKeeper ACLs are not recursive.
- Upgrade to 3.9.4.
- Disable both commands (
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper | ≥ 3.9.0&&< 3.9.4 | 3.9.4org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper:3.9.4 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper to 3.9.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-2hmj-97jw-28jh 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 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-2hmj-97jw-28jh can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-2hmj-97jw-28jh. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-2hmj-97jw-28jh in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-2hmj-97jw-28jh across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.