KafkaApplication · Apache
CVE-2017-12610
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 · uneditedIn Apache Kafka 0.10.0.0 to 0.10.2.1 and 0.11.0.0 to 0.11.0.1, authenticated Kafka clients may use impersonation via a manually crafted protocol message with SASL/PLAIN or SASL/SCRAM authentication when using the built-in PLAIN or SCRAM server implementations in Apache Kafka.
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 confidenceIn Apache Kafka 0.10.0.0-0.10.2.1 and 0.11.0.0-0.11.0.1, a vulnerability exists in the built-in SASL/PLAIN and SASL/SCRAM server implementations that allows authenticated clients to impersonate other users by crafting specific protocol messages.
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
KafkaApplication
>= 0.10.0.0, <= 0.10.2.1>= 0.11.0.0, <= 0.11.0.1CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Determine installed Kafka versionRun the kafka-topics.sh script with the --version flag, or inspect the kafka_2.x.x.jar filename in the Kafka libs directory, or check the version field in the broker startup logsAffected if The version falls within 0.10.0.0-0.10.2.1 or 0.11.0.0-0.11.0.1
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Identify if SASL authentication is configuredInspect the Kafka broker configuration file (server.properties or equivalent) for the security.inter.broker.protocol setting set to SASL, or for the sasl.enabled.mechanisms propertyAffected if SASL authentication is enabled for inter-broker communication or client connections
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Confirm SASL/PLAIN is in useCheck the sasl.enabled.mechanisms property in the broker configuration; if PLAIN is listed among enabled mechanisms, SASL/PLAIN is activeAffected if PLAIN is listed in sasl.enabled.mechanisms and the version is affected
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Confirm SASL/SCRAM is in useCheck the sasl.enabled.mechanisms property in the broker configuration; if SCRAM-SHA-512 or SCRAM-SHA-256 is listed, SASL/SCRAM is activeAffected if Any SCRAM mechanism is listed in sasl.enabled.mechanisms and the version is affected
You are affected if your Kafka version is 0.10.0.0-0.10.2.1 or 0.11.0.0-0.11.0.1 AND you have SASL/PLAIN or SASL/SCRAM authentication enabled for clients or inter-broker communication.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUpgrade Kafka to version 0.11.0.2 or later (or 0.10.2.2+), or alternatively migrate to an external authentication server; audit existing access patterns for signs of exploitation.
Fix this in Kafka
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,992.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-12610 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2017-12610 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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