Red Hat JBoss: authentication bypass flaw under attack

What is affected

Red Hat JBoss is mostly run by companies, schools and public bodies, not on home computers. You are unlikely to have it yourself, but organisations that hold your data may. Breaches that start with flaws like this one are how personal data ends up leaked.

The JMX-Console web application in JBossAs in Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform performs access control only for the GET and POST methods, which allows remote attackers to send requests to this application's GET handler by using a different method.

What an attacker can do

This is a authentication bypass flaw. It lets an attacker get in without a valid username and password and act as a legitimate user, often as an administrator.

How it is reached

Over the internet or network

Access the attacker needs

No account needed

Does the victim have to do something?

No, works without the victim doing anything

CISA records this vulnerability as known to be used in ransomware campaigns: attackers use it to get in, then encrypt files and demand payment.

What to do

1. At home: nothing to install. Keep your own devices updated and use a different password for every service, so that a breach at one organisation does not open your other accounts.
2. If you administer Red Hat JBoss at work: apply the vendor's fix or mitigation now and review logs for signs of compromise, because the flaw was being exploited before it was listed.
3. If the product is past its support date and no fix exists, take it off the internet or retire it.

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

How urgent is it

CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on May 25, 2022, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by June 15, 2022, a deadline that has already passed. That deadline does not bind anyone else, but it shows how seriously the agency rates it.

The EPSS model estimates a 80% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 99.6% of all scored vulnerabilities.

Its CVSS severity score is 5.3 out of 10 (medium), as recorded in the US National Vulnerability Database.

Technical description

The JMX-Console web application in JBossAs in Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (aka JBoss EAP or JBEAP) 4.2 before 4.2.0.CP09 and 4.3 before 4.3.0.CP08 performs access control only for the GET and POST methods, which allows remote attackers to send requests to this application's GET handler by using a different method.