KafkaApplication · Apache
CVE-2018-17196
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 versions between 0.11.0.0 and 2.1.0, it is possible to manually craft a Produce request which bypasses transaction/idempotent ACL validation. Only authenticated clients with Write permission on the respective topics are able to exploit this vulnerability. Users should upgrade to 2.1.1 or later where this vulnerability has been fixed.
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 Kafka versions 0.11.0.0 through 2.1.0 contain an authorization bypass where authenticated clients with Write permission on a topic can manually craft Produce requests that bypass transaction and idempotent ACL validation, allowing them to bypass intended security controls.
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
>= 0.11.0.0, <= 2.1.0CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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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Check the installed Kafka broker versionRun 'kafka-broker-api-versions' or check the kafka_2.x-x.x.jar filename in the Kafka lib directory, or query the broker via: bin/kafka-broker-api-versions.sh --bootstrap-server <broker>Affected if The version falls within 0.11.0.0 to 2.1.0 inclusive
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Verify if idempotent producers are in useInspect Kafka producer configuration files for 'enable.idempotence=true' or check producer logs for idempotent initialization messagesAffected if Idempotent producers are enabled and clients have Write permission on topics
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Verify if Kafka transactions are in useInspect producer configs for 'transactional.id' setting or check consumer configs for 'isolation.level=read_committed'Affected if Transactional producers are configured and clients have Write permission on topics
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Confirm ACL authorization is configuredCheck kafka-acls.sh --list or the authorizer.class.name setting in server.properties to verify ACLs are enabledAffected if ACLs are enforced and grant Write permission to clients using idempotent or transactional producers
You are affected if Kafka broker version is between 0.11.0.0 and 2.1.0 AND your environment uses idempotent or transactional producers with ACLs granting Write permission, allowing crafted Produce requests to bypass security controls.
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 Apache Kafka to version 2.1.1 or later where the vulnerability has been patched. Verify ACL configurations remain correctly enforced after the upgrade.
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-2018-17196 — 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-2018-17196 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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