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BookkeeperApplication · Apache

CVE-2022-32531

MEDIUM · 5.9 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-12-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.14.6 or later.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 Bookkeeper Java Client (before 4.14.6 and also 4.15.0) does not close the connection to the bookkeeper server when TLS hostname verification fails. This leaves the bookkeeper client vulnerable to a man in the middle attack. The problem affects BookKeeper client prior to versions 4.14.6 and 4.15.1.

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

The Apache BookKeeper Java Client fails to close network connections when TLS hostname verification fails, allowing malicious intermediaries to intercept and manipulate client-server communications. This occurs in versions prior to 4.14.6 and 4.15.1, where the TLS handshake proceeds even after hostname validation errors.

MitigationUpgrade the BookKeeper client library to version 4.14.6 or 4.15.1 or later to ensure connections are properly terminated upon TLS hostname verification failure.

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
BookkeeperApplication
Affected:< 4.14.6= 4.15.0

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
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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 the installed BookKeeper client version
    Inspect the JAR file or dependency management system (Maven pom.xml, Gradle build.gradle) for the bookkeeper-client dependency version. Run 'jar tf bookkeeper-client-*.jar | grep "org/apache/bookkeeper"' or check your dependency lock file.
    Affected if The version is below 4.14.6 or equals 4.15.0
  2. Confirm TLS is enabled for BookKeeper communications
    Review your BookKeeper client configuration for TLS settings. Look for 'tls' or 'ssl' related properties in bksite.conf, client.conf, or programmatically set SSLContext/KeyManager configurations.
    Affected if TLS/SSL encryption is configured and in use for client-to-bookie connections
  3. Verify hostname verification setting
    Check your TLS configuration for hostname verification: look for 'tlsHostnameVerificationEnabled', 'verifyHostname', or similar flags. In code, search for HostnameVerifier implementations.
    Affected if Hostname verification is explicitly enabled (the vulnerability manifests when it fails but connections remain open)
  4. Inspect connection handling after TLS failures
    Review application logs for any TLS handshake failures or certificate validation errors. Check if connections appear to remain in ESTABLISHED state after such failures.
    Affected if Connections persist or are reused after TLS hostname validation errors occur

You are affected if the BookKeeper Java client version is less than 4.14.6 or equals 4.15.0, and TLS with hostname verification is in use where connections may persist after verification failures.

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 4.14.6 or later
Fixed in 4.14.6
Interim mitigation

Upgrade the BookKeeper client library to version 4.14.6 or 4.15.1 or later to ensure connections are properly terminated upon TLS hostname verification failure.

Recommended fix High confidence

4.14.6 or 4.15.1 (whichever is compatible with your major version line)

  1. Upgrade Apache BookKeeper Java Client to version 4.14.6 or 4.15.1 or later
  2. If using Maven, update the dependency in pom.xml: change bookkeeper.version to 4.14.6 or 4.15.1
  3. Verify that the TLS hostname verification properly closes connections on failure after upgrade
  4. Test TLS connections to ensure client correctly validates certificates and hostname

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

Fix this in Bookkeeper Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,440
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,504.

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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-2022-32531 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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data