`CVE-2023-44981` Apache ZooKeeper

Affected software	Apache ZooKeeper
Severity	9.1 Critical CVSS 3.1 2 scores
Fixed in	`3.7.2`, `3.8.3`, `3.9.1`
Weakness	CWE-639
Published	11 Oct 2023
Updated	17 Jun 2026

Description

Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key vulnerability in Apache ZooKeeper. If SASL Quorum Peer authentication is enabled in ZooKeeper (quorum.auth.enableSasl=true), the authorization is done by verifying that the instance part in SASL authentication ID is listed in zoo.cfg server list. The instance part in SASL auth ID is optional and if it's missing, like 'eve@EXAMPLE.COM', the authorization check will be skipped. As a result an arbitrary endpoint could join the cluster and begin propagating counterfeit changes to the leader, essentially giving it complete read-write access to the data tree. Quorum Peer authentication is not enabled by default. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 3.9.1, 3.8.3, 3.7.2, which fixes the issue. Alternately ensure the ensemble election/quorum communication is protected by a firewall as this will mitigate the issue. See the documentation for more details on correct cluster administration.

Exploitation status

No public exploit

No exploit has been reported in the sources we check. Published 3 years ago.

CISA KEV not listed
VulnCheck KEV not listed
CISA Vulnrichment exploitation: none
Indexed PoC none indexed
EPSS 2.2% chance in 30 days

Waratek protection

No exploit published

Within Waratek scope. In the sources we check, nobody has published exploit code for this CVE or reported it being exploited.

A public code fix exists.

Protection none
Action unverified
Review automated Upstream data
Record active

Decided by	Exploit code for this candidate, published in a reviewed catalogue or a GitHub repository with 5 or more stars, or in use per CISA or VulnCheck; not only a CISA verdict, a forecast, or nothing at all
Finding	This CVE is not listed in CISA KEV or VulnCheck KEV, CISA Vulnrichment records no active exploitation, no reviewed exploit catalogue carries an entry for it, and no GitHub PoC repository for it has 5 or more stars. Nobody has published exploit code worth tracing, so it is not a candidate for a rule ahead of the ones where somebody has; an upstream fix path does exist, so the remediation half of the candidacy still holds. This is a statement about what has been published, not about whether the defect is reachable or serious.

Decided by

Exploit code for this candidate, published in a reviewed catalogue or a GitHub repository with 5 or more stars, or in use per CISA or VulnCheck; not only a CISA verdict, a forecast, or nothing at all

Finding

This CVE is not listed in CISA KEV or VulnCheck KEV, CISA Vulnrichment records no active exploitation, no reviewed exploit catalogue carries an entry for it, and no GitHub PoC repository for it has 5 or more stars. Nobody has published exploit code worth tracing, so it is not a candidate for a rule ahead of the ones where somebody has; an upstream fix path does exist, so the remediation half of the candidacy still holds. This is a statement about what has been published, not about whether the defect is reachable or serious.

CVSS

9.1 CRITICAL v3.1 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N 2 metrics

We show the highest score from the newest CVSS version. Scores from different versions can't be compared, and the first score listed is sometimes a 0.0 placeholder.

Version Score Band Vector Assigner Type

CVSS 3.1 9.1 CRITICAL CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N NVD Primary published

CVSS 3.1 9.1 CRITICAL CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N CISA-ADP Secondary

Version	Score	Band	Vector	Assigner	Type
CVSS 3.1	9.1	CRITICAL	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`	NVD	Primary	published
CVSS 3.1	9.1	CRITICAL	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`	CISA-ADP	Secondary

Affected software and releases

Oracle advisories

Advisory	Type	Quarter	Products Oracle names in its risk matrix
Oracle Critical Patch Update April 2026 ↗	CPU	2026-Q2	Oracle Financial Services Applications / Base (Apache ZooKeeper) (14.5.0.0.0-14.8.0.0.0) Oracle Financial Services Applications / Common (Apache ZooKeeper) (14.5.0.0.0-14.8.0.0.0) Oracle Financial Services Applications / Security (Apache ZooKeeper) (14.5.0.0.0-14.8.0.0.0)
Oracle Critical Patch Update April 2024 ↗	CPU	2024-Q2	Oracle Financial Services Applications / Accessibility (Apache ZooKeeper) (14.5.0.0.0, 14.6.0.0.0, 14.7.0.0.0) Oracle Financial Services Applications / Basic Config/Maintenances (Apache ZooKeeper) (14.5.0.0.0, 14.6.0.0.0, 14.7.0.0.0) Oracle Financial Services Applications / Common (Apache ZooKeeper) (14.5.0.0.0, 14.6.0.0.0, 14.7.0.0.0) Oracle Financial Services Applications / Common Core (Apache ZooKeeper) (14.5.0.0.0, 14.6.0.0.0, 14.7.0.0.0) Oracle Financial Services Applications / Reports (Apache ZooKeeper) (14.5.0.0.0, 14.6.0.0.0, 14.7.0.0.0)
Oracle Critical Patch Update January 2024 ↗	CPU	2024-Q1	Oracle Communications / Automated Test Suite (Apache ZooKeeper) (23.3.0, 23.4.0) Oracle Communications Applications / PSR Designer (Apache ZooKeeper) (7.4.2.8.0) Oracle Construction and Engineering / Document Manager (Apache ZooKeeper) (19.12.0-19.12.16, 20.12.0-20.12.16, 21.12.0-21.12.17, 22.12.0-22.12.11)

Advisory

Type

Quarter

Products Oracle names in its risk matrix

Oracle Critical Patch Update April 2026 ↗

CPU

2026-Q2

Oracle Financial Services Applications / Base (Apache ZooKeeper) (14.5.0.0.0-14.8.0.0.0)
Oracle Financial Services Applications / Common (Apache ZooKeeper) (14.5.0.0.0-14.8.0.0.0)
Oracle Financial Services Applications / Security (Apache ZooKeeper) (14.5.0.0.0-14.8.0.0.0)

Oracle Critical Patch Update April 2024 ↗

CPU

2024-Q2

Oracle Financial Services Applications / Accessibility (Apache ZooKeeper) (14.5.0.0.0, 14.6.0.0.0, 14.7.0.0.0)
Oracle Financial Services Applications / Basic Config/Maintenances (Apache ZooKeeper) (14.5.0.0.0, 14.6.0.0.0, 14.7.0.0.0)
Oracle Financial Services Applications / Common (Apache ZooKeeper) (14.5.0.0.0, 14.6.0.0.0, 14.7.0.0.0)
Oracle Financial Services Applications / Common Core (Apache ZooKeeper) (14.5.0.0.0, 14.6.0.0.0, 14.7.0.0.0)
Oracle Financial Services Applications / Reports (Apache ZooKeeper) (14.5.0.0.0, 14.6.0.0.0, 14.7.0.0.0)

Oracle Critical Patch Update January 2024 ↗

CPU

2024-Q1

Oracle Communications / Automated Test Suite (Apache ZooKeeper) (23.3.0, 23.4.0)
Oracle Communications Applications / PSR Designer (Apache ZooKeeper) (7.4.2.8.0)
Oracle Construction and Engineering / Document Manager (Apache ZooKeeper) (19.12.0-19.12.16, 20.12.0-20.12.16, 21.12.0-21.12.17, 22.12.0-22.12.11)

Oracle components and versions

Family	Component	Versions, as Oracle lists them	Read as
Oracle Communications	Automated Test Suite (Apache ZooKeeper)	23.3.0, 23.4.0	23.3.0 · 23.4.0
Oracle Communications Applications	PSR Designer (Apache ZooKeeper)	7.4.2.8.0	7.4.2.8.0
Oracle Construction and Engineering	Document Manager (Apache ZooKeeper)	19.12.0-19.12.16, 20.12.0-20.12.16, 21.12.0-21.12.17, 22.12.0-22.12.11
Oracle Financial Services Applications	Accessibility (Apache ZooKeeper)	14.5.0.0.0, 14.6.0.0.0, 14.7.0.0.0	14.5.0.0.0 · 14.6.0.0.0 · 14.7.0.0.0
Oracle Financial Services Applications	Base (Apache ZooKeeper)	14.5.0.0.0-14.8.0.0.0
Oracle Financial Services Applications	Basic Config/Maintenances (Apache ZooKeeper)	14.5.0.0.0, 14.6.0.0.0, 14.7.0.0.0	14.5.0.0.0 · 14.6.0.0.0 · 14.7.0.0.0
Oracle Financial Services Applications	Common (Apache ZooKeeper)	14.5.0.0.0-14.8.0.0.0	14.5.0.0.0 · 14.6.0.0.0 · 14.7.0.0.0
Oracle Financial Services Applications	Common Core (Apache ZooKeeper)	14.5.0.0.0, 14.6.0.0.0, 14.7.0.0.0	14.5.0.0.0 · 14.6.0.0.0 · 14.7.0.0.0
Oracle Financial Services Applications	Reports (Apache ZooKeeper)	14.5.0.0.0, 14.6.0.0.0, 14.7.0.0.0	14.5.0.0.0 · 14.6.0.0.0 · 14.7.0.0.0
Oracle Financial Services Applications	Security (Apache ZooKeeper)	14.5.0.0.0-14.8.0.0.0

Family

Component

Versions, as Oracle lists them

Read as

Oracle Communications

Automated Test Suite (Apache ZooKeeper)

23.3.0, 23.4.0

23.3.0 · 23.4.0

Oracle Communications Applications

PSR Designer (Apache ZooKeeper)

7.4.2.8.0

Oracle Construction and Engineering

Document Manager (Apache ZooKeeper)

19.12.0-19.12.16, 20.12.0-20.12.16, 21.12.0-21.12.17, 22.12.0-22.12.11

Oracle Financial Services Applications

Accessibility (Apache ZooKeeper)

14.5.0.0.0, 14.6.0.0.0, 14.7.0.0.0

14.5.0.0.0 · 14.6.0.0.0 · 14.7.0.0.0

Oracle Financial Services Applications

Base (Apache ZooKeeper)

14.5.0.0.0-14.8.0.0.0

Oracle Financial Services Applications

Basic Config/Maintenances (Apache ZooKeeper)

14.5.0.0.0, 14.6.0.0.0, 14.7.0.0.0

14.5.0.0.0 · 14.6.0.0.0 · 14.7.0.0.0

Oracle Financial Services Applications

Common (Apache ZooKeeper)

14.5.0.0.0-14.8.0.0.0

14.5.0.0.0 · 14.6.0.0.0 · 14.7.0.0.0

Oracle Financial Services Applications

Common Core (Apache ZooKeeper)

14.5.0.0.0, 14.6.0.0.0, 14.7.0.0.0

14.5.0.0.0 · 14.6.0.0.0 · 14.7.0.0.0

Oracle Financial Services Applications

Reports (Apache ZooKeeper)

14.5.0.0.0, 14.6.0.0.0, 14.7.0.0.0

14.5.0.0.0 · 14.6.0.0.0 · 14.7.0.0.0

Oracle Financial Services Applications

Security (Apache ZooKeeper)

14.5.0.0.0-14.8.0.0.0

Maven packages

Affected and fixed versions, from OSV.dev

Package Introduced Fixed Last affected

org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper 0 3.7.2 unbounded

org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper 3.8.0 3.8.3 unbounded

org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper 3.9.0 3.9.1 unbounded

Package	Introduced	Fixed	Last affected
`org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper`	0	`3.7.2`	unbounded
`org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper`	3.8.0	`3.8.3`	unbounded
`org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper`	3.9.0	`3.9.1`	unbounded

Products and versions

3 products, 9 version entries

Source	Vendor	Product	Scheme	Affected versions
nvd	apache	zookeeper	generic	＜ 3.7.2 · ≥ 3.8.0 and ＜ 3.8.3 · 3.9.0
nvd	debian	debian linux	generic	10.0 · 11.0 · 12.0
osv	org.apache.zookeeper	zookeeper	generic	＜ 3.7.2 · ≥ 3.8.0 and ＜ 3.8.3 · ≥ 3.9.0 and ＜ 3.9.1

Source

Vendor

Product

Scheme

Affected versions

nvd

apache

zookeeper

generic

＜ 3.7.2 · ≥ 3.8.0 and ＜ 3.8.3 · 3.9.0

nvd

debian

debian linux

generic

10.0 · 11.0 · 12.0

osv

org.apache.zookeeper

zookeeper

generic

＜ 3.7.2 · ≥ 3.8.0 and ＜ 3.8.3 · ≥ 3.9.0 and ＜ 3.9.1

References

URL	Tags
https://github.com/apache/zookeeper	PACKAGE
https://lists.apache.org/thread/wf0yrk84dg1942z1o74kd8nycg6pgm5b	WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/10/msg00029.html	WEB
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20240621-0007	WEB
https://www.debian.org/security/2023/dsa-5544	WEB
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/10/11/4	WEB
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20240621-0007/

URL

Timeline

Published	2023-10-11	By the CVE Program.
NVD record modified	2026-06-17	NVD's own last-modified date for this record.

Published

2023-10-11

By the CVE Program.

NVD record modified

2026-06-17

NVD's own last-modified date for this record.

How VRT decided (17 of 24 rules ran)

17 of 24 rules ran. The rest didn't run because an earlier rule had already settled the CVE.

# Rule Outcome Status Detail

identity: Does this identifier describe a vulnerability at all? the first rule that matches decides

1 rejected no match CVE Program withdrawal of this identifier

scope: Is it a vulnerability Waratek protects? the first rule that matches decides

2 armr-patch-file no match An ARMR patch file on disk for this CVE

3 armr-secure-rule-file no match An ARMR security-rule template on disk for this CVE

4 manual-classification no match A researcher's recorded decision for this specific CVE

5 manual classification no match Manual classification of this CVE in the legacy dataset

6 non-java-upstream no match A root cause in non-Java code: an OS kernel, a C library, or a bundled runtime

7 oracle-component no match The defect being in a component of a tracked product the agent does not reach: JavaFX, the Java SE installer, the JInitiator browser plug-in, the native WebLogic proxy plug-in, or a native part of Oracle Application Server or Collaboration Suite (HTTP Server, Web Cache, Internet Directory, mail and calendar servers). Oracle gives these no CPE of their own and names them only in the description.

8 java-client-side no match Oracle's own risk-matrix note saying the CVE is reached only through untrusted code in the Java sandbox (applets, Web Start) or only through a client installation of Java, so a server running its own trusted code is not exposed

9 osv-maven matched In scope Maven packages: org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper

10 cna-maven-package not reached An affected Maven artifact named by the CNA itself

11 known-cpe-product not reached An NVD CPE naming a product ARMR tracks

12 cna-cpe-product not reached A CPE the CNA published naming a tracked product. Oracle publishes these on advisory day, months before NVD.

13 oracle-advisory-family not reached A tracked product family named in Oracle's own risk matrix. CPE cannot carry a suite name, only a module.

14 cna-named-product not reached A tracked product named in words by the CVE's own CNA, on a record with no CPE yet. Apache and Eclipse publish these on advisory day, before NVD adds CPE data.

15 non-deployable-product not reached The only affected product being a sealed appliance image, where Java runs but no -javaagent can be attached

16 unmatched-product not reached No tracked product matched above, and none present at all

disposition: What do we do about one that is? every rule runs

17 patch-hint no match A reference pointing at the upstream fix: a commit, a PR, a Red Hat bug

18 open-source-maven matched Mitigation candidate Open-source Maven artifact indexed by OSV (Maven packages: org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper). The source is public, which makes an ARMR patch rule a candidate; nothing here establishes that one can be written.

19 poc-derivable skipped An indexed exploit clearing the evidence bar to reverse-engineer, where there is no source to read

20 no-exploit skipped Nothing to build a rule from yet: no published exploit, no CISA record of exploitation and no source-level change to read

21 secure-rule-match no match A vulnerability class already blocked by an ARMR security rule

22 exploited-no-fix-or-poc skipped Somebody exploiting this CVE (a CISA or VulnCheck KEV listing, or a CISA verdict of active exploitation), with no fix, source code or PoC to build a rule from

23 below-action-threshold no match Severity is CRITICAL — only MEDIUM/LOW are deprioritized

24 no-exploit-published decided it matched No exploit published No exploit code has been published, and an upstream fix path does exist, so the remediation half of the candidacy still holds.

Products the scope rules checked

The products this CVE's record names, and whether VRT tracks each one. The scope rules decided on these.

Vendor Product Tracked CPE Source

apache zookeeper tracked cpe:2.3:a:apache:zookeeper:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* yaml

debian debian_linux not tracked cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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