An authenticated Kafka principal with no authorization grants (not even ALTER_CONFIGS) can make a broker read a file
Source GCVE Database
Mentioned vulnerabilities
Not known to be exploited · fixed in 4.2.2 : patch Apache Kafka soon.
Data as of 28 Oct 2026, 19:57 UTC
Rated High by Threat Radar's AI analysis · CVSS not yet scored by NVD
- Patch
- Available – fixed in 4.2.2
Exploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 28 Oct 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.
What to do
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| Apache Kafkaorg.apache.kafka:kafka | Affected
| Fixed in– |
MavenApache Software Foundation/org.apache.kafka:kafkapkg:maven/Apache Software Foundation/org.apache.kafka:kafkaOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.
AI-suggested
Upgrade Apache Kafka to versions 4.2.2, 4.3.2, or 4.4.0, where authorization is enforced before configuration validation and config-provider resolution is restricted. Additionally, run Kafka brokers under least-privileged operating system accounts to limit file access and protect sensitive files from being read by the broker process.
Description
An authenticated Kafka principal without any authorization grants can exploit a flaw in broker configuration validation to read files or environment variables from the broker host. This occurs because configuration validation resolves variables before authorization checks, bypassing existing allowlists. The vulnerability allows disclosure of sensitive broker-hosted files and environment variables, potentially exposing secrets. The issue is fixed in Apache Kafka versions 4.2.2, 4.3.2, and 4.4.0 by enforcing authorization before validation and restricting config-provider usage.