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CVE-2023-34040

MediumCVSS 5.3 / 10
Published Aug 24, 2023·Last modified Jul 8, 2026
Affected Components(0)

No affected components available

Description

In Spring for Apache Kafka 3.0.9 and earlier and versions 2.9.10 and earlier, a possible deserialization attack vector existed, but only if unusual configuration was applied. An attacker would have to construct a malicious serialized object in one of the deserialization exception record headers.

Specifically, an application is vulnerable when all of the following are true:

  • The user does not configure an ErrorHandlingDeserializer for the key and/or value of the record
  • The user explicitly sets container properties checkDeserExWhenKeyNull and/or checkDeserExWhenValueNull container properties to true.
  • The user allows untrusted sources to publish to a Kafka topic

By default, these properties are false, and the container only attempts to deserialize the headers if an ErrorHandlingDeserializer is configured. The ErrorHandlingDeserializer prevents the vulnerability by removing any such malicious headers before processing the record.

Risk Scores
Base Score
5.3

The vulnerability requires local access to the device to be exploited. It is easy for an attacker to exploit this vulnerability. An attacker needs basic access or low-level privileges. No user interaction is needed for the attacker to exploit this vulnerability. The impact is confined to the system where the vulnerability exists. There is a low impact on the confidentiality of the information. There is a low impact on the integrity of the data. There is a low impact on the availability of the system.

Threat Intelligence
5.0

Exploitation attempts have been detected. Elevated vigilance and prompt remediation are advised.

EPSS
2.18%

The exploit probability is very low. The vulnerability is unlikely to be exploited in the next 30 days.

Exploit
Proof of Concept

A proof of concept is available for this vulnerability (4 exploits found).

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