PulsarApplication · Apache

CVE-2023-37579

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-07-12

Fix available

A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.10.4 or later.

See remediation →

71/100

Remediation priority · Elevated

Remotely reachable Zero-click

Official description

NVD · unedited

Incorrect Authorization vulnerability in Apache Software Foundation Apache Pulsar Function Worker. This issue affects Apache Pulsar: before 2.10.4, and 2.11.0. Any authenticated user can retrieve a source's configuration or a sink's configuration without authorization. Many sources and sinks contain credentials in the configuration, which could lead to leaked credentials. This vulnerability is mitigated by the fact that there is not a known way for an authenticated user to enumerate another tenant's sources or sinks, meaning the source or sink name would need to be guessed in order to exploit this vulnerability. The recommended mitigation for impacted users is to upgrade the Pulsar Function Worker to a patched version. 2.10 Pulsar Function Worker users should upgrade to at least 2.10.4. 2.11 Pulsar Function Worker users should upgrade to at least 2.11.1. 3.0 Pulsar Function Worker users are unaffected. Any users running the Pulsar Function Worker for 2.9.* and earlier should upgrade to one of the above patched versions.

Technical summary

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Authenticated users can retrieve source or sink configurations without proper authorization in Apache Pulsar Function Worker, potentially exposing credentials stored in those configurations. The vulnerability exists because the authorization check is not properly enforced when accessing another tenant's source/sink configurations. Exploitation requires guessing the source/sink name since no enumeration mechanism exists.

MitigationUpgrade Pulsar Function Worker to version 2.10.4+, 2.11.1+, or 3.0 to patch the incorrect authorization vulnerability.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions

NVD · CPE data

PulsarApplication

Affected:< 2.10.4= 2.11.0

CVSS breakdown

From the vector

Attack vector: Network
Complexity: Low
Privileges: Low
User interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: None
Availability: None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Am I affected?

dbcve checks

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

Check Pulsar version

Run 'bin/pulsar version' or inspect the Pulsar JAR files in the installation directory to determine the exact version string

Affected if The version is lower than 2.10.4, or equals exactly 2.11.0
Verify Function Worker is enabled

Inspect conf/functions_worker.yml or conf/standalone.conf for 'functionsWorkerEnabled: true' or check if the Function Worker service is running as part of the Pulsar deployment

Affected if Function Worker is enabled and the Pulsar version is vulnerable
Confirm authorization is enabled

Check conf/broker.conf for 'authorizationEnabled=true' or in conf/pulsar_env.sh for authorization module configuration

Affected if Authorization is enabled (the vulnerability bypasses proper authorization checks, so if authorization is off the exposure is different but still present)
Identify exposed source/sink REST API endpoints

Check if the Function Worker REST API (typically on port 8080 or 8088) is accessible without strict network segmentation, and note that the vulnerable endpoints are /admin/v3/sources/{tenant}/{namespace}/{name}/config and /admin/v3/sinks/{tenant}/{namespace}/{name}/config

Affected if The Function Worker REST API is externally accessible or accessible to untrusted users

You are affected if you run a vulnerable Pulsar version (below 2.10.4 or exactly 2.11.0) with Function Worker enabled and have authorization configured, since an authenticated user could access another tenant's source/sink configurations containing credentials.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Remediation

dbcve · scoped

Upgrade available Upgrade to 2.10.4 or later

Fixed in 2.10.4

Interim mitigation

Upgrade Pulsar Function Worker to version 2.10.4+, 2.11.1+, or 3.0 to patch the incorrect authorization vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Pulsar 2.10.4+ or 2.11.1+ (or later releases) based on your current branch

Identify the current Pulsar Function Worker version by checking the deployed Pulsar cluster version
Determine the upgrade path based on current version: for 2.10.x upgrade to 2.10.4+, for 2.11.x upgrade to 2.11.1+, for 2.9.x or earlier upgrade to either 2.10.4+ or 2.11.1+
Back up all Pulsar configuration files, including function worker configs, before proceeding
Stop the Pulsar Function Worker service (or the entire Pulsar cluster if running in embedded mode)
Upgrade Pulsar to the appropriate patched version (2.10.4, 2.11.1, or later) using the standard upgrade procedure
Verify the upgrade completed successfully by checking the Pulsar version
Confirm the authorization fix is working by testing that unauthenticated or unauthorized users can no longer retrieve source/sink configurations
Restart any affected production workloads that depend on Pulsar functions

Caveat Review release notes for upgrade path considerations; minor version upgrades within 2.10.x or 2.11.x typically have minimal breaking changes but ensure compatibility with your client libraries

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

Fix this in Pulsar Scoped from the published advisory

Consultation2.0 h
Implementation3.0 h
Testing3.0 h
Review / QA2.0 h

10.0 hours of engineering $1,750

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Scan for this in your stack

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References

Primary sources

lists.apache.orgMailing ListVendor Advisory
nvd.nist.govNVD record

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-37579 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2023-37579?

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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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

At a glance

A fix existsUpgrade to 2.10.4 or later

Severity 6.5 Medium

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 0.8%

Affects: Pulsar

Remediation

Need this fixed?

Fix this in Pulsar 10 hrs · Moderate

Typical engagement from $1,750

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You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Check your environment

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.

Scan for this in your stack

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Am I affected?

Remediation

References