Apache RocketMQ: vulnerability flaw under attack

What is affected

Apache RocketMQ 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.

Several components of Apache RocketMQ, including NameServer, Broker, and Controller, are exposed to the extranet and lack permission verification. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by using the update configuration function to execute commands as the system users that RocketMQ is running as or achieve the same effect by forging the RocketMQ protocol content.

What an attacker can do

This is a vulnerability flaw. It lets an attacker misuse the product in a way its maker did not intend. CISA lists it because attackers are confirmed to be using it against real systems.

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

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 Apache RocketMQ 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 mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Vendor advisories and fixes

• lists.apache.orglists.apache.org/thread/1s8j2c8kogthtpv3060yddk03zq0pxyp

How urgent is it

CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on September 6, 2023, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by September 27, 2023, 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 97% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 99.9% of all scored vulnerabilities.

Its CVSS severity score is 9.8 out of 10 (critical), as recorded in the US National Vulnerability Database.

Technical description

For RocketMQ versions 5.1.0 and below, under certain conditions, there is a risk of remote command execution.  Several components of RocketMQ, including NameServer, Broker, and Controller, are leaked on the extranet and lack permission verification, an attacker can exploit this vulnerability by using the update configuration function to execute commands as the system users that RocketMQ is running as. Additionally, an attacker can achieve the same effect by forging the RocketMQ protocol content.  To prevent these attacks, users are recommended to upgrade to version 5.1.1 or above for using RocketMQ 5.x or 4.9.6 or above for using RocketMQ 4.x .