Summary
Apache Pulsar Broker's Rest Producer vulnerable to Incorrect Authorization
Incorrect Authorization vulnerability in Apache Software Foundation Apache Pulsar Broker's Rest Producer allows authenticated user with a custom HTTP header to produce a message to any topic using the broker's admin role.
This issue affects Apache Pulsar Brokers: from 2.9.0 through 2.9.5, from 2.10.0 before 2.10.4, 2.11.0.
The vulnerability is exploitable when an attacker can connect directly to the Pulsar Broker. If an attacker is connecting through the Pulsar Proxy, there is no known way to exploit this authorization vulnerability.
There are two known risks for affected users. First, an attacker could produce garbage messages to any topic in the cluster. Second, an attacker could produce messages to the topic level policies topic for other tenants and influence topic settings that could lead to exfiltration and/or deletion of messages for other tenants.
2.8 Pulsar Broker users and earlier are unaffected.
2.9 Pulsar Broker users should upgrade to one of the patched versions.
2.10 Pulsar Broker users should upgrade to at least 2.10.4.
2.11 Pulsar Broker users should upgrade to at least 2.11.1.
3.0 Pulsar Broker users are unaffected.
Impact
The application does not correctly enforce access controls, allowing a principal to access resources or operations beyond their granted permissions. Typical impact: unauthorized data access or execution of privileged operations.
CVE-2023-30428 has a CVSS score of 8.2 (High). The vector is network-reachable, low 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 (2.10.4, 2.11.1); 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 2.10.4 or later; org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-broker to 2.11.1 or later
Kodem Kai can prioritize this vulnerability in your dependency tree and generate a fix recommendation.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2023-30428? CVE-2023-30428 is a high-severity incorrect authorization vulnerability in org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-broker (maven), affecting versions >= 2.9.0, < 2.10.4. It is fixed in 2.10.4, 2.11.1. The application does not correctly enforce access controls, allowing a principal to access resources or operations beyond their granted permissions.
- How severe is CVE-2023-30428? CVE-2023-30428 has a CVSS score of 8.2 (High). 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 versions of org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-broker are affected by CVE-2023-30428? org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-broker (maven) versions >= 2.9.0, < 2.10.4 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2023-30428? Yes. CVE-2023-30428 is fixed in 2.10.4, 2.11.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2023-30428 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2023-30428 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-2023-30428 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-2023-30428?
- Upgrade
org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-brokerto 2.10.4 or later - Upgrade
org.apache.pulsar:pulsar-brokerto 2.11.1 or later
- Upgrade