CVE-2023-34040 Vulnerability Analysis & Exploit Details

CVE-2023-34040
Vulnerability Scoring

5.3
/10
Significant Risk

Security assessments indicate that CVE-2023-34040 presents a notable risk, potentially requiring prompt mitigation.

Attack Complexity Details

  • Attack Complexity: Low
    Exploits can be performed without significant complexity or special conditions.
  • Attack Vector: Local
    Vulnerability requires local system access.
  • Privileges Required: Low
    Some privileges are necessary to exploit the vulnerability.
  • Scope: Unchanged
    Exploit remains within the originally vulnerable component.
  • User Interaction: None
    No user interaction is necessary for exploitation.

CVE-2023-34040 Details

Status: Modified

Last updated: 🕗 21 Nov 2024, 08:06 UTC
Originally published on: 🕐 24 Aug 2023, 13:15 UTC

Time between publication and last update: 454 days

CVSS Release: version 3

CVSS3 Source

security@vmware.com

CVSS3 Type

Secondary

CVSS3 Vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L

CVE-2023-34040 Vulnerability Summary

CVE-2023-34040: 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.

Assessing the Risk of CVE-2023-34040

Access Complexity Graph

The exploitability of CVE-2023-34040 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).

Exploitability Analysis for CVE-2023-34040

CVE-2023-34040 presents an accessible attack vector with minimal effort required. Restricting access controls and implementing security updates are critical to reducing exploitation risks.

Understanding AC and PR

A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.

Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.

Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.

CVSS Score Breakdown Chart

Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2023-34040, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.

CIA Impact Analysis

Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2023-34040, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.

  • Confidentiality: Low
    CVE-2023-34040 could lead to minor leaks of non-critical information without major privacy breaches.
  • Integrity: Low
    Exploiting CVE-2023-34040 may cause minor changes to data without severely impacting its accuracy.
  • Availability: Low
    CVE-2023-34040 may slightly degrade system performance without fully affecting service availability.

Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)

The EPSS score estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the near future.

EPSS Score: 0.044% (probability of exploit)

EPSS Percentile: 15.44% (lower percentile = lower relative risk)
This vulnerability is less risky than approximately 84.56% of others.

CVE-2023-34040 References

External References

CWE Common Weakness Enumeration

CWE-502

CAPEC Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification

  • Object Injection CAPEC-586 An adversary attempts to exploit an application by injecting additional, malicious content during its processing of serialized objects. Developers leverage serialization in order to convert data or state into a static, binary format for saving to disk or transferring over a network. These objects are then deserialized when needed to recover the data/state. By injecting a malformed object into a vulnerable application, an adversary can potentially compromise the application by manipulating the deserialization process. This can result in a number of unwanted outcomes, including remote code execution.

Vulnerable Configurations

  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.8.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.0:milestone1:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.0:milestone1:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:2.9.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.0:milestone1:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.0:milestone1:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.0:milestone2:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.0:milestone2:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.0:milestone3:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.0:milestone3:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.0:milestone4:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.0:milestone4:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.0:milestone5:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.0:milestone5:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.0:milestone6:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.0:milestone6:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:vmware:spring_for_apache_kafka:3.0.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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