NifiApplication · Apache
CVE-2018-17195
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 · uneditedThe template upload API endpoint accepted requests from different domain when sent in conjunction with ARP spoofing + man in the middle (MiTM) attack, resulting in a CSRF attack. The required attack vector is complex, requiring a scenario with client certificate authentication, same subnet access, and injecting malicious code into an unprotected (plaintext HTTP) website which the targeted user later visits, but the possible damage warranted a Severe severity level. Mitigation: The fix to apply Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) policy request filtering was applied on the Apache NiFi 1.8.0 release. Users running a prior 1.x release should upgrade to the appropriate release.
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 confidenceApache NiFi's template upload API endpoint was vulnerable to CSRF attacks via a complex attack vector involving ARP spoofing and man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks. The vulnerability allowed requests from different domains when the attack was carried out in conjunction with client certificate authentication on the same subnet, where the attacker first injected malicious code into an unprotected plaintext HTTP website visited by the target user. The fix implemented Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) policy request filtering.
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
NifiApplication
>= 1.0.0, <= 1.7.1CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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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Identify the installed Apache NiFi versionCheck the nifi-version file in the NiFi installation directory, or query the NiFi REST API at /nifi-api/system/versionAffected if The version is between 1.0.0 and 1.7.1 inclusive
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Verify if client certificate authentication is enabledInspect the NiFi bootstrap.conf or authorizers.xml configuration files for keystore/truststore settings, or check the conf/login-identity-providers.xml for certificate-based authentication configurationAffected if Client certificate authentication is configured and enabled on the NiFi instance
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Confirm the template upload API endpoint is accessibleVerify the NiFi web interface is accessible and the template upload functionality exists (typically at /nifi-api/templates)Affected if The template upload API endpoint is reachable over the network
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Check for CORS policy filtering configurationInspect the conf/nifi.properties file for any CORS-related properties, or check for custom CORS filter configurations in the web applicationAffected if No CORS filtering is configured and the version is in the affected range
A defender is affected if their Apache NiFi version falls within 1.0.0 to 1.7.1 and client certificate authentication is enabled, combined with network accessibility to the template upload endpoint lacking CORS protection.
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 to Apache NiFi 1.8.0 or later release, which includes the CORS policy request filtering fix. For prior 1.x releases still in use, prioritize the upgrade to address this CSRF vulnerability vector.
Fix this in Nifi
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-17195 — 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-2018-17195 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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