GHSA-vgq5-3255-v292 — kafka-clients
HIGHGHSA-vgq5-3255-v292 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) vulnerability in org.apache.kafka:kafka-clients. 2 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for org.apache.kafka:kafka-clients — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Apache Kafka Client Arbitrary File Read and Server Side Request Forgery Vulnerability
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- 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-vgq5-3255-v292.
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-vgq5-3255-v292 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE sits: patch-first territory.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 378,567 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 50–90% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
org.apache.kafka:kafka-clientsReal-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 arbitrary file read and SSRF vulnerability has been identified in Apache Kafka Client. Apache Kafka Clients accept configuration data for setting the SASL/OAUTHBEARER connection with the brokers, including "sasl.oauthbearer.token.endpoint.url" and "sasl.oauthbearer.jwks.endpoint.url". Apache Kafka allows clients to read an arbitrary file and return the content in the error log, or sending requests to an unintended location. In applications where Apache Kafka Clients configurations can be specified by an untrusted party, attackers may use the "sasl.oauthbearer.token.endpoint.url" and "sasl.oauthbearer.jwks.endpoint.url" configuratin to read arbitrary contents of the disk and environment variables or make requests to an unintended location. In particular, this flaw may be used in Apache Kafka Connect to escalate from REST API access to filesystem/environment/URL access, which may be undesirable in certain environments, including SaaS products.
Since Apache Kafka 3.9.1/4.0.0, we have added a system property ("-Dorg.apache.kafka.sasl.oauthbearer.allowed.urls") to set the allowed urls in SASL JAAS configuration. In 3.9.1, it accepts all urls by default for backward compatibility. However in 4.0.0 and newer, the default value is empty list and users have to set the allowed urls explicitly.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.apache.kafka:kafka-clients | ≥ 3.1.0&&< 3.9.1 | 3.9.1org.apache.kafka:kafka-clients:3.9.1 |
Research 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 org.apache.kafka:kafka-clients, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.apache.kafka:kafka-clients to 3.9.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-vgq5-3255-v292 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-vgq5-3255-v292 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-vgq5-3255-v292. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
How to detect GHSA-vgq5-3255-v292
A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:
nuclei -id ghsa-vgq5-3255-v292 -u https://target- Template
- Apache Kafka Client - Arbitrary File Read
- Severity
- high
- Impact
- Attackers can read arbitrary files or make unintended network requests, potentially exposing sensitive data or causing unauthorized interactions.
- Remediation
- Update to Apache Kafka 4.0.0 or later and configure allowed URLs using -Dorg.apache.kafka.sasl.oauthbearer.allowed.urls system property.
Template by ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates (0x_Akoko), 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.
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Streams for Apache Kafka 2.9.1 | see advisory | RHSA-2025:9922 |
| Streams for Apache Kafka 3.1.0 | kafka | RHSA-2025:23417 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-vgq5-3255-v292 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-vgq5-3255-v292 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.