CVE-2021-22160 Authentication with JWT allows use of “none”-algorithm

What is CVE-2021-22160?

CVE-2021-22160 is a critical authentication bypass vulnerability in Apache Pulsar, published on 26 May 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

Official description

If Apache Pulsar is configured to authenticate clients using tokens based on JSON Web Tokens (JWT), the signature of the token is not validated if the algorithm of the presented token is set to "none". This allows an attacker to connect to Pulsar instances as any user (incl. admins).

Weakness: CWE-347

Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-22160?

2 open source packages ship an affected version, including org.apache.pulsar:pulsar. It affects 1 product.

Products include Apache Pulsar.

How do I fix CVE-2021-22160?

Upgrade org.apache.pulsar:pulsar to 2.7.2 or later.

Upgrade, and rotate credentials and sessions that may have been exposed. More about Authentication bypass.

Is CVE-2021-22160 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-22160 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Apache Pulsar

• CVE-2023-30429 Apache Pulsar: Incorrect Authorization for Function Worker when using mTLS Authentication through Pulsar Proxy Critical 9.6
• CVE-2024-27135 Apache Pulsar: Improper Input Validation in Pulsar Function Worker allows Remote Code Execution High 8.5
• CVE-2024-27894 Apache Pulsar: Pulsar Functions Worker Allows Unauthorized File Access and Unauthorized HTTP/HTTPS Proxying High 8.5
• CVE-2024-27317 Apache Pulsar: Pulsar Functions Worker's Archive Extraction Vulnerability Allows Unauthorized File Modification High 8.4
• CVE-2022-34321 Apache Pulsar: Improper Authentication for Pulsar Proxy Statistics Endpoint High 8.2

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as GHSA-3cv4-xxv7-934q.