# CVE-2018-1279: RabbitMQ cluster compromise due to deterministically generated cookie

> Remote attackers can guess deterministic cluster cookies to gain full control over RabbitMQ clusters in multi-tenant configurations.

- **Severity:** High 8.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 10 Dec 2018
- **Updated:** 17 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2018-1279, GHSA-f9rc-w362-jp2c, UBUNTU-CVE-2018-1279

## What is CVE-2018-1279?

CVE-2018-1279 is a high-severity vulnerability in Pivotal RabbitMq for PCF, published on 10 Dec 2018. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Pivotal RabbitMQ for PCF, all versions, uses a deterministically generated cookie that is shared between all machines when configured in a multi-tenant cluster. A remote attacker who can gain information about the network topology can guess this cookie and, if they have access to the right ports on any server in the MQ cluster can use this cookie to gain full control over the entire cluster.

Weakness: CWE-330 (Use of Insufficiently Random Values)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-1279?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Pivotal Software Rabbitmq.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-1279?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2018-1279 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-1279 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Pivotal RabbitMq for PCF

- [CVE-2016-0929](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-0929/): Information disclosure in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2014-9494](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-9494/): RabbitMQ before 3.4.0 allows remote attackers to bypass the loopback_users restriction via a crafted X-Forwareded-For header. (medium 5.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-1279 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-1279 is a high-severity vulnerability in Pivotal RabbitMq for PCF, published on 10 Dec 2018. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-1279 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Pivotal RabbitMq for PCF. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-1279/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-1279/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-1279
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-1279
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-1279

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-1279/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.