dbcve.org
Qpid Proton JApplication · Apache

CVE-2018-17187

HIGH · 7.4 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-11-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 0.29.0 or later.
See remediation →
83/100
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
The Apache Qpid Proton-J transport includes an optional wrapper layer to perform TLS, enabled by use of the 'transport.ssl(...)' methods. Unless a verification mode was explicitly configured, client and server modes previously defaulted as documented to not verifying a peer certificate, with options to configure this explicitly or select a certificate verification mode with or without hostname verification being performed. The latter hostname verifying mode was not implemented in Apache Qpid Proton-J versions 0.3 to 0.29.0, with attempts to use it resulting in an exception. This left only the option to verify the certificate is trusted, leaving such a client vulnerable to Man In The Middle (MITM) attack. Uses of the Proton-J protocol engine which do not utilise the optional transport TLS wrapper are not impacted, e.g. usage within Qpid JMS. Uses of Proton-J utilising the optional transport TLS wrapper layer that wish to enable hostname verification must be upgraded to version 0.30.0 or later and utilise the VerifyMode#VERIFY_PEER_NAME configuration, which is now the default for client mode usage unless configured otherwise.

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

Apache Qpid Proton-J versions 0.3 to 0.29.0 have a missing implementation for hostname verification in the optional TLS transport wrapper. The VerifyMode#VERIFY_PEER_NAME option was not implemented, causing exceptions when attempted, leaving only basic certificate trust verification available. This allows attackers to perform Man In The Middle attacks by presenting a valid but unrelated certificate.

MitigationUpgrade Apache Qpid Proton-J to version 0.30.0 or later and explicitly configure VerifyMode#VERIFY_PEER_NAME to enable proper hostname verification, which is now the default for client mode.

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
Qpid Proton JApplication
Affected:>= 0.3, <= 0.29.0

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

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/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 installed Apache Qpid Proton-J version
    Locate the qpid-proton-j JAR file in your Java application classpath or build dependencies (e.g., Maven pom.xml, Gradle dependencies, or the JAR file itself). Check the file name or manifest for the version number.
    Affected if The version is 0.3 through 0.29.0 inclusive
  2. Determine if TLS/SSL transport is in use
    Review your application code or configuration for Proton-J SSL/TLS setup. Look for usage of SSL, TLS, or the SSL transport wrapper in connection URLs or configuration files.
    Affected if TLS/SSL transport is configured and used with Proton-J
  3. Check for VerifyMode#VERIFY_PEER_NAME configuration
    Search your application source code and configuration for references to VerifyMode.VERIFY_PEER_NAME or the string 'VERIFY_PEER_NAME'. Also check if any custom SSL configuration is applied to the Proton-J transport.
    Affected if VERIFY_PEER_NAME is explicitly set or expected to be used (the default was broken in affected versions, throwing exceptions)

Your environment is affected if the installed qpid-proton-j version falls between 0.3 and 0.29.0 inclusive and you use TLS connections, since hostname verification was not functional due to the unimplemented VerifyMode#VERIFY_PEER_NAME.

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 0.29.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Apache Qpid Proton-J to version 0.30.0 or later and explicitly configure VerifyMode#VERIFY_PEER_NAME to enable proper hostname verification, which is now the default for client mode.

Fix this in Qpid Proton J Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing10.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,580
Get the upgrade done

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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-2018-17187 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
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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