CVE-2024-23944

Information disclosure in persistent watchers handling in Apache ZooKeeper due to missing ACL check. It allows an attacker to monitor child znodes by attaching a persistent watcher (addWatch command) to a parent which the attacker has already access to. ZooKeeper server doesn't do ACL check when the persistent watcher is triggered and as a consequence, the full path of znodes that a watch event gets triggered upon is exposed to the owner of the watcher. It's important to note that only the path is exposed by this vulnerability, not the data of znode, but since znode path can contain sensitive information like user name or login ID, this issue is potentially critical.

Users are recommended to upgrade to version 3.9.2, 3.8.4 which fixes the issue.

The application does not perform an authorization check before performing a sensitive operation. Typical impact: unauthorized access to restricted functionality or data.

CVE-2024-23944 has a CVSS score of 5.3 (Medium). The vector is requires local access, 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 (3.8.4, 3.9.2); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

1. What is CVE-2024-23944? CVE-2024-23944 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper (maven), affecting versions >= 3.8.0, <= 3.8.3. It is fixed in 3.8.4, 3.9.2. The application does not perform an authorization check before performing a sensitive operation.
2. How severe is CVE-2024-23944? CVE-2024-23944 has a CVSS score of 5.3 (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.
3. Which versions of org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper are affected by CVE-2024-23944? org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper (maven) versions >= 3.8.0, <= 3.8.3 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2024-23944? Yes. CVE-2024-23944 is fixed in 3.8.4, 3.9.2. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2024-23944 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2024-23944 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
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2024-23944 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.
7. How do I fix CVE-2024-23944?
   • Upgrade org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper to 3.8.4 or later
   • Upgrade org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper to 3.9.2 or later