VulnerabilityPublished 28 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-112375: Apache Kafka · Missing Authorization

Affects Apache KafkaSource CVE Database V5

Mentioned vulnerabilities

CVE-2024-31141

Not known to be exploited · fixed in 4.2.2 : patch Apache Kafka soon.

Data as of 28 Oct 2026, 17:23 UTC

Severity

High

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.

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.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Apache Kafkaorg.apache.kafka:kafka	Affected >=3.2.0 <=4.1.2 >=4.2.0 <=4.2.1 >=4.3.0 <=4.3.1	Fixed in–
MavenApache Software Foundation/org.apache.kafka:kafka`pkg:maven/Apache Software Foundation/org.apache.kafka:kafka`Other threats	Affected >=3.2.0 <=4.1.2 >=4.2.0 <=4.2.1 >=4.3.0 <=4.3.1	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 checks (ALTER_CONFIGS) are enforced before configuration validation and config-provider resolution is restricted to an allowlist. Additionally, run Kafka brokers under least-privileged operating system accounts to limit file access by the broker process and reduce exposure of sensitive files.

Description

CVE-2026-112375 is a missing authorization vulnerability in Apache Kafka that allows an authenticated principal without any authorization grants to read files or environment variables from the broker host. This occurs because configuration validation happens before authorization checks, enabling resolution of configuration variables that expose sensitive data. The issue affects Kafka versions from 3.2.0 through 4.1.2, 4.2.0 through 4.2.1, and 4.3.0 through 4.3.1. The vulnerability is mitigated in versions 4.2.2, 4.3.2, and 4.4.0 by enforcing authorization before configuration validation and restricting config-provider usage. Running brokers under least-privileged OS accounts is recommended as additional defense.

Impact

An authenticated principal without any authorization grants can read arbitrary files and environment variables accessible to the Kafka broker process, potentially exposing sensitive credentials, keystores, or other secrets. This disclosure risk bypasses previous mitigations and affects clusters with an authorizer enabled. The vulnerability does not affect broker or cluster availability. Clusters without an authorizer are not practically affected since all principals have ALTER_CONFIGS rights by default.

CWE-862Missing Authorization (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #4OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product does not perform an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action.
Architecture and Design
Divide the product into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully mapping roles with data and functionality. Use role-based access control (RBAC) to enforce the roles at the appropriate boundaries.
Architecture and Design
Ensure that access control checks are performed related to the business logic. These checks may be different than the access control checks that are applied to more generic resources such as files, connections, processes, memory, and database records.
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.3.8 (opens in a new tab)
V13.4.2 (opens in a new tab)
V7.2.2 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Exploitation of Thunderbolt Protection Flaws (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

kafka.apache.org/cve-list (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 28 Oct 2026, 17:23 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-862

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats