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DatahubApplication

CVE-2023-25561

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-02-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 0.8.45 or later.
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
DataHub is an open-source metadata platform. In the event a system is using Java Authentication and Authorization Service (JAAS) authentication and that system is given a configuration which contains an error, the authentication for the system will fail open and allow an attacker to login using any username and password. The reason for this is that while an error is thrown in the `authenticateJaasUser` method it is swallowed without propagating the error. As a result of this issue unauthenticated users may gain access to the system. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this issue. This vulnerability was discovered and reported by the GitHub Security lab and is tracked as GHSL-2022-081.

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 · moderate confidence

In DataHub's JAAS authentication module, the `authenticateJaasUser` method catches exceptions but fails to propagate them, causing authentication to fail open when JAAS configuration errors occur. This allows attackers to bypass authentication entirely using any username and password combination.

MitigationUpgrade DataHub to a version that fixes the error handling in the JAAS authentication flow, as no workarounds exist for this critical authentication bypass.

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
DatahubApplication
Affected:< 0.8.45

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. Identify DataHub version
    Check the installed DataHub version using package manager, build artifact, or version file (common locations: version metadata in deployment, or check datahub-common/package-info for version)
    Affected if Installed version is earlier than 0.8.45
  2. Verify JAAS authentication is in use
    Inspect DataHub configuration files for JAAS (Java Authentication and Authorization Service) configuration settings - look for jaas-related properties or login module configuration
    Affected if JAAS authentication is enabled and configured as the authentication mechanism
  3. Locate JAAS configuration file
    Find the jaas.conf or login.conf file referenced by DataHub's JVM startup parameters, typically in config/ or conf/ directories, or check for -Djava.security.auth.login.config JVM argument
    Affected if A JAAS configuration file exists and is loaded by DataHub
  4. Inspect authenticateJaasUser method error handling
    Review the DataHub authentication source code for the authenticateJaasUser method - check if caught exceptions are swallowed without propagating authentication failures
    Affected if The authenticateJaasUser method catches exceptions but does not re-throw them, causing authentication to succeed on configuration errors

A system is affected if it runs DataHub version below 0.8.45 with JAAS authentication enabled, and the JAAS configuration can trigger errors that are caught but not propagated by the authenticateJaasUser method.

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 0.8.45 or later
Fixed in 0.8.45
Interim mitigation

Upgrade DataHub to a version that fixes the error handling in the JAAS authentication flow, as no workarounds exist for this critical authentication bypass.

Recommended fix High confidence

DataHub >= 0.8.45

  1. 1. Back up your current DataHub installation and all configuration files
  2. 2. Download DataHub version 0.8.45 or later from the official GitHub repository (github.com/datahub-project/datahub)
  3. 3. Stop the running DataHub service
  4. 4. Replace the existing DataHub installation files with the new version
  5. 5. Ensure your JAAS configuration file is properly formatted and accessible
  6. 6. Start the DataHub service
  7. 7. Verify the JAAS authentication is working correctly by attempting login with invalid credentials - it should fail
  8. 8. Confirm legitimate authentication still works as expected
Caveat Review release notes for any configuration or dependency changes between your current version and 0.8.45

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

Fix this in Datahub Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,656.

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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-2023-25561 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