CVE-2026-115644VulnerabilityPublished 28 Oct 2026

Apache Kafka Connect contains an authentication bypass vulnerability affecting the admin REST API when admin.listeners

Source GCVE Database

Authoritative record:CVE-2026-115644· High

Not known to be exploited : upgrade to 4.3.2 or 4.2.2 soon.

Data as of 28 Oct 2026, 22:12 UTC

Severity

High

Rated High by Threat Radar's AI analysis · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

Patch: Available – fixed in 4.3.2, 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.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

ghsa-jmxh-862m-3gxj

What to do

Upgrade Apache to 4.3.2 or 4.2.2.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Apache Kafkaorg.apache.kafka:connect-runtime	Affected >=4.3.0 <4.3.2	Fixed in 4.3.2
Apache Kafkaorg.apache.kafka:connect-runtime	Affected >=2.4.0 <4.2.2	Fixed in 4.2.2
MavenApache Software Foundation/org.apache.kafka:connect-runtime`pkg:maven/Apache Software Foundation/org.apache.kafka:connect-runtime`Other threats	Affected >=2.4.0 <4.2.2 >=4.3.0 <4.3.2	Fixed in 4.2.2 4.3.2

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 Connect to version 4.2.2, 4.3.2, or 4.4.0 or later, where the vulnerability is fixed. If immediate upgrade is not possible, remove or leave the admin.listeners configuration unset so that admin resources share the main listener and inherit its security extensions, preventing unauthenticated access.

Description

Apache Kafka Connect has an authentication bypass vulnerability in the admin REST API when the admin.listeners property is configured separately from the main listeners. This misconfiguration causes security extensions not to apply to the admin listener endpoints, allowing unauthenticated access. An attacker with network access to the admin listener can read logger configurations and modify logger levels cluster-wide, potentially impacting availability and observability. The issue is fixed in Apache Kafka versions 4.2.2, 4.3.2, and 4.4.0. Users unable to upgrade immediately can mitigate by removing or leaving admin.listeners unset, causing admin resources to share the main listener and inherit its security extensions.

References

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