dbcve.org
YugabytedbApplication · Yugabyte

CVE-2022-37397

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-08-12
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
An issue was discovered in the YugabyteDB 2.6.1 when using LDAP-based authentication in YCQL with Microsoft’s Active Directory. When anonymous or unauthenticated LDAP binding is enabled, it allows bypass of authentication with an empty password.

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

YugabyteDB 2.6.1 has an authentication bypass vulnerability in YCQL when using LDAP authentication with Microsoft Active Directory. If anonymous or unauthenticated LDAP binding is enabled in the configuration, an attacker can bypass authentication entirely by providing an empty password, effectively gaining unauthorized access to the database.

MitigationDisable anonymous and unauthenticated LDAP binding in the YugabyteDB LDAP configuration and/or Active Directory settings. Ensure LDAP authentication requires proper user credentials rather than allowing empty password authentication.

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
YugabytedbApplication
Affected:= 2.6.1

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
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checks

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

  1. Verify YugabyteDB version is 2.6.1
    Run 'yb-admin --version' or check the installed package version to confirm the exact YugabyteDB version installed in your environment
    Affected if Installed version is exactly 2.6.1
  2. Confirm YCQL is in use
    Check if your application or configuration connects to YCQL (YugabyteDB CQL) endpoint typically on port 9042, rather than YSQL
    Affected if YCQL is the active interface for database connections
  3. Verify LDAP authentication is configured
    Inspect the YugabyteDB configuration files (typically in /etc/yugabyte or the data directory) for ldap.* settings, or check if --ldap_auth flag is set to true in the tserver configuration
    Affected if LDAP authentication is enabled for YCQL connections
  4. Check for anonymous LDAP binding configuration
    Review LDAP configuration files for settings that permit anonymous binding such as 'ldap_bind_dn' left empty, 'ldap_bind_password' unset, or AD configuration allowing unauthenticated binds. Examine the LDAP authentication provider settings in the yb-tserver.conf or equivalent config
    Affected if Anonymous or unauthenticated LDAP binding is permitted in the configuration

A user is affected if they run YugabyteDB 2.6.1 with YCQL using LDAP authentication that permits anonymous or unauthenticated LDAP binding, allowing empty password authentication bypass.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Disable anonymous and unauthenticated LDAP binding in the YugabyteDB LDAP configuration and/or Active Directory settings. Ensure LDAP authentication requires proper user credentials rather than allowing empty password authentication.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

YugabyteDB version later than 2.6.1 (check release notes for the specific version containing the fix)

  1. 1. Back up your current YugabyteDB cluster configuration and data
  2. 2. Download and install a version of YugabyteDB that includes the security fix for CVE-2022-37397
  3. 3. Before deploying to production, test the upgrade in a staging environment to verify LDAP authentication works correctly
  4. 4. After upgrading, verify that empty password authentication attempts are rejected when LDAP anonymous binding is enabled
  5. 5. Ensure your LDAP configuration in yb-tserver.conf has proper settings for secure authentication
Caveat Test all LDAP authentication flows thoroughly after upgrade to ensure legitimate authentication is not broken

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

Fix this in Yugabytedb Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
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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-2022-37397 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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