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CommonsOperating system · Fedoraproject

CVE-2007-4364

HIGH · 8.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2007-08-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.2 or later.
See remediation →
91/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Fedora Commons before 2.2.1 does not properly handle certain authentication requests involving Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI), related to (1) a nonexistent account name in combination with an empty password, which allows remote attackers to trigger a certain "unexpected / strange response" from an LDAP server, and (2) a reauthentication attempt that throws an exception, which allows remote attackers to trigger use of a cached authentication decision. NOTE: authentication can be bypassed by using vector 1 followed by vector 2, and possibly can be bypassed by using a single vector.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Authentication bypass vulnerability in Fedora Commons versions before 2.2.1 in the JNDI authentication handler. The flaw allows remote attackers to bypass authentication through two vectors: (1) using a nonexistent account name with an empty password to trigger an unexpected LDAP server response, and (2) a reauthentication attempt that throws an exception, causing the system to use a cached authentication decision. Chaining these vectors enables full authentication bypass.

MitigationUpgrade to Fedora Commons version 2.2.1 or later, which contains the fix for proper JNDI authentication handling. If upgrading is not feasible, review and restrict LDAP authentication configurations as a temporary measure.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
CommonsOperating system
Affected:<= 2.2

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
M
Authentication
Single
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Fedora Commons version
    Locate and inspect the Fedora Commons version file or startup banner. Typical locations include version properties files in the installation directory, or check the 'fedoragsearch' or 'fedora' system information page if the server is running.
    Affected if Installed version is 2.2 or earlier (any version <= 2.2)
  2. Confirm JNDI/LDAP authentication is in use
    Examine the Fedora Commons configuration files, particularly 'jaas.conf', 'ldap.conf', or authentication-related XML configuration files in the 'server' or 'config' directory. Look for JNDI or LDAP authentication module definitions.
    Affected if The system is configured to use JNDI authentication with LDAP backend
  3. Review authentication handler configuration
    Inspect the JNDI authentication handler configuration for the specific settings that allow empty password authentication and cached credential reuse. Check for 'allowEmptyPasswords' or similar boolean flags, and exception handling that may rely on cached authentication decisions.
    Affected if Empty password authentication is permitted or exception handling falls back to cached credentials
  4. Test the first bypass vector
    Attempt to authenticate using a nonexistent username with an empty password against the Fedora Commons login endpoint. If authentication unexpectedly succeeds, the first vector is exploitable.
    Affected if Authentication succeeds with nonexistent username and empty password
  5. Test the second bypass vector
    Perform a valid authentication, then attempt reauthentication with altered credentials that trigger an exception. Check if the system accepts the original cached authentication decision instead of properly rejecting the altered attempt.
    Affected if System accepts cached authentication from prior session after failed reauthentication attempt

Environment is affected if running Fedora Commons version 2.2 or earlier with JNDI/LDAP authentication enabled, and either empty password or cached credential fallback behaviors are present in the configuration.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 2.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Fedora Commons version 2.2.1 or later, which contains the fix for proper JNDI authentication handling. If upgrading is not feasible, review and restrict LDAP authentication configurations as a temporary measure.

Fix this in Commons Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2007-4364 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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