Summary
Apache Pulsar Brokers and Proxies vulnerable to Improper Certificate Validation
Apache Pulsar Brokers and Proxies create an internal Pulsar Admin Client that does not verify peer TLS certificates, even when tlsAllowInsecureConnection is disabled via configuration. The Pulsar Admin Client's intra-cluster and geo-replication HTTPS connections are vulnerable to man in the middle attacks, which could leak authentication data, configuration data, and any other data sent by these clients. An attacker can only take advantage of this vulnerability by taking control of a machine 'between' the client and the server. The attacker must then actively manipulate traffic to perform the attack. This issue affects Apache Pulsar Broker and Proxy versions 2.7.0 to 2.7.4; 2.8.0 to 2.8.3; 2.9.0 to 2.9.2; 2.10.0; 2.6.4 and earlier.
Impact
CVE-2022-33683 has a CVSS score of 5.9 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (2.7.5, 2.8.4, 2.9.3, 2.10.1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-broker to 2.7.5 or later; org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-proxy to 2.7.5 or later; org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-broker to 2.8.4 or later; org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-proxy to 2.8.4 or later; org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-broker to 2.9.3 or later; org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-proxy to 2.9.3 or later; org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-broker to 2.10.1 or later; org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-proxy to 2.10.1 or later
Kodem Kai can prioritize this vulnerability in your dependency tree and generate a fix recommendation.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2022-33683? CVE-2022-33683 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-broker (maven), affecting versions < 2.7.5. It is fixed in 2.7.5, 2.8.4, 2.9.3, 2.10.1.
- How severe is CVE-2022-33683? CVE-2022-33683 has a CVSS score of 5.9 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which packages are affected by CVE-2022-33683?
org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-broker(maven) (versions < 2.7.5)org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-proxy(maven) (versions < 2.7.5)
- Is there a fix for CVE-2022-33683? Yes. CVE-2022-33683 is fixed in 2.7.5, 2.8.4, 2.9.3, 2.10.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2022-33683 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2022-33683 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2022-33683 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2022-33683?
- Upgrade
org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-brokerto 2.7.5 or later - Upgrade
org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-proxyto 2.7.5 or later - Upgrade
org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-brokerto 2.8.4 or later - Upgrade
org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-proxyto 2.8.4 or later - Upgrade
org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-brokerto 2.9.3 or later - Upgrade
org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-proxyto 2.9.3 or later - Upgrade
org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-brokerto 2.10.1 or later - Upgrade
org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-proxyto 2.10.1 or later
- Upgrade