Observable Discrepancy in Apache KafkaGHSA-3j6g-hxx5-3q26
MEDIUMGHSA-3j6g-hxx5-3q26 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.9) CWE-203 vulnerability in org.apache.kafka:kafka_2.11. A fix is available for org.apache.kafka:kafka_2.11 — see the affected versions and patch details below.
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
org.apache.kafka:kafka_2.11☕org.apache.kafka:kafka_2.12☕org.apache.kafka:kafka_2.12☕org.apache.kafka:kafka_2.12☕org.apache.kafka:kafka_2.13☕org.apache.kafka:kafka_2.13☕org.apache.kafka:kafka_2.13☕org.apache.kafka:kafka-clients+2 moreReal-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
Some components in Apache Kafka use Arrays.equals to validate a password or key, which is vulnerable to timing attacks that make brute force attacks for such credentials more likely to be successful. Users should upgrade to 2.8.1 or higher, or 3.0.0 or higher where this vulnerability has been fixed. The affected versions include Apache Kafka 2.0.0, 2.0.1, 2.1.0, 2.1.1, 2.2.0, 2.2.1, 2.2.2, 2.3.0, 2.3.1, 2.4.0, 2.4.1, 2.5.0, 2.5.1, 2.6.0, 2.6.1, 2.6.2, 2.7.0, 2.7.1, and 2.8.0.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.apache.kafka:kafka_2.11 | ≥ 2.0.0 | No fix |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.kafka:kafka_2.12 | ≥ 2.0.0&&< 2.6.3 | 2.6.3org.apache.kafka:kafka_2.12:2.6.3 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.kafka:kafka_2.12 | ≥ 2.7.0&&< 2.7.2 | 2.7.2org.apache.kafka:kafka_2.12:2.7.2 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.kafka:kafka_2.12 | ≥ 2.8.0&&< 2.8.1 | 2.8.1org.apache.kafka:kafka_2.12:2.8.1 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.kafka:kafka_2.13 | ≥ 2.4.0&&< 2.6.3 | 2.6.3org.apache.kafka:kafka_2.13:2.6.3 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.kafka:kafka_2.13 | ≥ 2.7.0&&< 2.7.2 | 2.7.2org.apache.kafka:kafka_2.13:2.7.2 |
Affected Products
kafkaapachecommunications brm - elastic charging engineoraclecommunications cloud native core policyoraclefinancial services analytical applications infrastructureoraclefinancial services behavior detection platformoraclefinancial services enterprise case managementoracleDetection & 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_2.11, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
A fix is available for GHSA-3j6g-hxx5-3q26; check the affected-versions list above or the advisory for the patched release of org.apache.kafka:kafka_2.11, then make sure no transitive dependency still pins the vulnerable range.
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.
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.
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat AMQ Streams 1.6.6 | see advisory | RHSA-2022:0219 |
| Red Hat AMQ Streams 2.0.0 | kafka | RHSA-2022:0138 |
| Red Hat build of Quarkus 2.2.5 | kafka-clients | RHSA-2022:0589 |
| Red Hat Data Grid 8.3.1 | kafka-clients | RHSA-2022:2232 |
| Red Hat Fuse 7.11 | kafka-clients | RHSA-2022:5532 |
| RHAF Camel-K 1.8 | kafka-clients | RHSA-2022:6407 |
| RHINT Camel-Q 2.7 | see advisory | RHSA-2022:5606 |
| RHINT Service Registry 2.0.3 GA | kafka-clients | RHSA-2022:0501 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-3j6g-hxx5-3q26 in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.