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GeronimoApplication · Apache

CVE-2007-5797

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2007-11-03
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
SQLLoginModule in Apache Geronimo 2.0 through 2.1 does not throw an exception for a nonexistent username, which allows remote attackers to bypass authentication via a login attempt with any username not contained in the database.

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

The SQLLoginModule in Apache Geronimo 2.0-2.1 fails to throw an exception when a username does not exist in the authentication database, causing the module to return a successful authentication result for any username not in the database. This allows remote attackers to bypass authentication by using usernames that are not registered.

MitigationUpgrade Apache Geronimo to a version where this bug is fixed, or if upgrade is not feasible, implement a custom login module wrapper that validates user existence before invoking SQLLoginModule, and add explicit denial for non-existent users.

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
GeronimoApplication
Affected:= 2.0= 2.0.1= 2.0.2= 2.1

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
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

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 Apache Geronimo installation and version
    Locate the Geronimo installation directory and check for a version file or manifest. Common locations include the root directory of the Geronimo server installation. Look for a version.properties, manifest.mf, or similar file that displays the exact version number.
    Affected if The installed version is 2.0, 2.0.1, 2.0.2, or 2.1
  2. Locate the login module configuration
    Search for Geronimo login configuration files that may contain SQLLoginModule. These are typically named login-config.xml, geronimo-login.xml, or similar, often found in the var/security directory or within deployed application configurations under the deploy/ folder.
    Affected if SQLLoginModule is configured in any login configuration file
  3. Identify the SQL database configuration for authentication
    Examine the SQLLoginModule configuration to find the database connection details (JDBC URL, datasource name, or connection parameters). Identify which database contains the user authentication tables.
    Affected if SQLLoginModule points to a SQL database containing user credential data
  4. Verify user database contents
    Query the user authentication database to list all registered usernames. Connect to the database using the credentials from the SQLLoginModule configuration and query the users table.
    Affected if The database contains fewer than all valid system users, meaning usernames NOT in the database would be accepted
  5. Test authentication with non-existent username
    If permissible in your environment, attempt to authenticate using a username that does not exist in the user database. Observe whether the authentication succeeds when it should fail.
    Affected if Authentication succeeds for usernames that do not exist in the database, confirming the vulnerability is present

A user is affected if they are running Apache Geronimo version 2.0, 2.0.1, 2.0.2, or 2.1 with SQLLoginModule configured and their authentication database does not contain all valid usernames, allowing any unregistered username to authenticate successfully.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Apache Geronimo to a version where this bug is fixed, or if upgrade is not feasible, implement a custom login module wrapper that validates user existence before invoking SQLLoginModule, and add explicit denial for non-existent users.

Fix this in Geronimo Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2007-5797 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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