Vulnerability in Apache Software Foundation Apache Kafka

[ Description ]Official description

A Kafka broker using SASL/OAUTHBEARER with the default validator (sasl.oauthbearer.jwt.validator.class=DefaultJwtValidator) selects its implementation from configuration. When sasl.oauthbearer.jwks.endpoint.url is set, the validator verifies the JWT signature. When that URL is unset (the default) and no verification key resolver is supplied, DefaultJwtValidator silently falls back to ClientJwtValidator, which does not verify the JWT signature, algorithm, or issuer - and the broker starts with no warning or error. This is the residual of CVE-2026-33557, whose fix restored signature verification only on the path where the JWKS endpoint URL is set. Impact: A broker in this state accepts any structurally valid JWT, including "alg":"none" tokens. An unauthenticated remote attacker who can reach the listener can forge a token asserting any principal - including configured superusers - and gain full access to the cluster. Only brokers that enable SASL/OAUTHBEARER validation without a JWKS endpoint URL (and without a custom verification key resolver) are affected; brokers that set the URL verify signatures and are not affected. Unlike CVE-2026-110952 (issuer/audience not enforced by default), here no signature is verified at all. Mitigation (all affected versions, no upgrade required): Set sasl.oauthbearer.jwks.endpoint.url for every listener/mechanism that uses OAuthBearerValidatorCallbackHandler, or configure a signature-verifying sasl.oauthbearer.jwt.validator.class. Resolution: From Apache Kafka 4.2.2, 4.3.1, and 4.4.0: a broker that would fall back to the non-verifying ClientJwtValidator fails to start with a ConfigException instead of running without signature verification (secure by default).

[ Fixes ]Fixes and patches

No fix or interim patch is linked from our sources yet. Check the vendor references below and limit exposure of affected systems until a fix is available.

[ Advisories ]Government CERT advisories

• CERT-FR29 Oct 2026CERTFR-2026-AVI-1415

  Multiple vulnerabilities in Apache Kafka Translated from French

  Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in Apache Kafka. Some of them allow an attacker to cause remote denial of service, a breach of data confidentiality and a breach of data integrity.

  CVE-2026-111551CVE-2026-111073CVE-2026-110952+9 more CVEs
• BSI CERT-Bund28 Oct 2026WID-SEC-2026-4221

  Apache Kafka: Multiple vulnerabilities Translated from German

  CVE-2026-110952CVE-2026-110985CVE-2026-116593+10 more CVEs

[ References ]References

• kafka.apache.org/cve-list