dbcve.org
AkkaApplication · Lightbend

CVE-2018-16115

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-08-29
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.5.16 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Lightbend Akka 2.5.x before 2.5.16 allows message disclosure and modification because of an RNG error. A random number generator is used in Akka Remoting for TLS (both classic and Artery Remoting). Akka allows configuration of custom random number generators. For historical reasons, Akka included the AES128CounterSecureRNG and AES256CounterSecureRNG random number generators. The implementations had a bug that caused the generated numbers to be repeated after only a few bytes. The custom RNG implementations were not configured by default but examples in the documentation showed (and therefore implicitly recommended) using the custom ones. This can be used by an attacker to compromise the communication if these random number generators are enabled in configuration. It would be possible to eavesdrop, replay, or modify the messages sent with Akka Remoting/Cluster.

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

Akka 2.5.x before 2.5.16 contains a flawed implementation of custom random number generators (AES128CounterSecureRNG and AES256CounterSecureRNG) used in TLS for Akka Remoting. The bug causes generated random numbers to repeat after only a few bytes, completely breaking the cryptographic protection and allowing attackers to eavesdrop on, replay, or modify messages sent over Akka Remoting/Cluster connections.

MitigationUpgrade to Akka 2.5.16 or later, and ensure custom RNG configurations are removed or replaced with Java's default SecureRandom implementation.

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
AkkaApplication
Affected:>= 2.5.0, < 2.5.16

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checks

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

  1. Identify Akka version
    Review build configuration files (build.sbt, pom.xml, gradle.build) or JAR manifest for akka-actor library version
    Affected if Version is 2.5.0 through 2.5.15 inclusive
  2. Verify Akka Remoting is enabled
    Inspect akka.remote.artery.enabled or akka.remote.enabled in application.conf
    Affected if Remoting or Artery transport is turned on
  3. Confirm TLS/SSL is configured for remoting
    Look for ssl-config or akka.remote.netty.ssl.config settings in application.conf
    Affected if TLS/SSL is enabled for remoting connections
  4. Check for custom RNG configuration
    Search configuration files for AES128CounterSecureRNG or AES256CounterSecureRNG in ssl-config.secureRandom or related settings
    Affected if Either AES128CounterSecureRNG or AES256CounterSecureRNG is configured as the random number generator

Environment is affected if running Akka 2.5.0-2.5.15 with Akka Remoting over TLS enabled and using AES128CounterSecureRNG or AES256CounterSecureRNG as the custom random number generator.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2.5.16 or later
Fixed in 2.5.16
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Akka 2.5.16 or later, and ensure custom RNG configurations are removed or replaced with Java's default SecureRandom implementation.

Recommended fix High confidence

Akka 2.5.16 or later (2.5.31 recommended for latest 2.5.x stable)

  1. Upgrade Akka version from any 2.5.0-2.5.15 to version 2.5.16 or later (e.g., 2.5.31 for the latest 2.5.x stable release)
  2. If using a build tool (sbt, Maven, Gradle), update the akka-actor, akka-remote, and akka-cluster dependency versions to the new release
  3. After upgrading, verify that the custom RNG configurations AES128CounterSecureRNG and AES256CounterSecureRNG are not enabled in application.conf (they should not be used even in the fixed version; use Java's default SecureRandom or the netty SecureRandom instead)
  4. Test the upgrade in a staging environment to confirm remoting/cluster communication works correctly
Caveat Minor: Review release notes for any behavioral changes between your current version and 2.5.16; typically safe within patch version range but test thoroughly

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Akka Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,840
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,544.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-16115 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2018-16115 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data