Man-in-the-middle attack in Apache Cassandra

CVE-2020-13946 → View on GitHub ↗ View on CVE.org ↗ View on NVD ↗

Description

In Apache Cassandra, all versions prior to 2.1.22, 2.2.18, 3.0.22, 3.11.8 and 4.0-beta2, it is possible for a local attacker without access to the Apache Cassandra process or configuration files to manipulate the RMI registry to perform a man-in-the-middle attack and capture user names and passwords used to access the JMX interface. The attacker can then use these credentials to access the JMX interface and perform unauthorised operations. Users should also be aware of CVE-2019-2684, a JRE vulnerability that enables this issue to be exploited remotely.

Basic information

Type
reviewed
Severity
medium
Advisory on GitHub
Open advisory ↗
Repository advisory
—
Source code
Not specified
Published (advisory)
2021-05-07 15:54:46 UTC
Updated
2023-02-01 05:05:41 UTC
GitHub reviewed
2021-05-05 19:22:12 UTC
NVD published
2020-09-01

EPSS Score

Score Percentile
0.29% 51.87%

CVSS Scores

Base score Version Severity Vector
5.9 3.1 —
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.

Identifiers

Type Value
GHSA GHSA-24ww-mc5x-xc43 ↗
CVE CVE-2020-13946 ↗

CWEs

CWE id Name
CWE-668 Exposure of Resource to Wrong Sphere

Affected packages (5)

Vulnerable version ranges and first patched releases as published by GitHub.

Ecosystem Package Vulnerable range First patched Vulnerable functions
maven org.apache.cassandra:cassandra-all >= 2.1.0, < 2.1.12 2.1.12 —
maven org.apache.cassandra:cassandra-all >= 2.2.0, < 2.2.18 2.2.18 —
maven org.apache.cassandra:cassandra-all >= 3.0.0, < 3.0.22 3.0.22 —
maven org.apache.cassandra:cassandra-all >= 3.11.0, < 3.11.8 3.11.8 —
maven org.apache.cassandra:cassandra-all = 4.0-beta1 4.0-beta2 —

References

cvelogic Threat Intelligence