CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2022-36437NVD status: Modified

Hazelcast: Session Fixation

CVE-2022-36437 is a critical-severity session fixation vulnerability in Hazelcast, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.1 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 3.12.13, 4.1.10, 4.2.6 as the first without the flaw, so updating Hazelcast to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 1.09% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 66% of scored CVEs.

Patch this week

Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.

What to do

  1. Update Hazelcast to 3.12.13 or 4.1.10 or 4.2.6 or 5.0.4, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Update Hazelcast-jet to 4.5.4 or a later version.
  3. Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
  4. Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
HazelcastHazelcastbefore 3.12.13; 4.0.0 up to, but not including, 4.1.10; 4.2.0 up to, but not including, 4.2.6; 5.0.0 up to, but not including, 5.0.4; 5.1.0 up to, but not including, 5.1.33.12.13, 4.1.10, 4.2.6, 5.0.4, 5.1.3
HazelcastHazelcast-jetbefore 4.5.44.5.4

Version data comes from NVD's product matching. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
NoneNo account or login is needed.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
NoneAvailability is not affected.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N. Scored by NVD.

Scoring systemScoreSeverityScored by
CVSS 3.19.1CriticalNVD
CVSS 3.19.1CriticalCISA (ADP)

Official description

The Connection handler in Hazelcast and Hazelcast Jet allows a remote unauthenticated attacker to access and manipulate data in the cluster with the identity of another already authenticated connection. The affected Hazelcast versions are through 4.0.6, 4.1.9, 4.2.5, 5.0.3, and 5.1.2. The affected Hazelcast Jet versions are through 4.5.3.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Session Fixation

Authenticating a user, or otherwise establishing a new user session, without invalidating any existing session identifier gives an attacker the opportunity to steal authenticated sessions.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Invalidate any existing session identifiers prior to authorizing a new user session.
  • For platforms such as ASP that do not generate new values for sessionid cookies, utilize a secondary cookie. In this approach, set a secondary cookie on the user's browser to a random value and set a session variable to the same value. If the session variable and the cookie value ever don't match, invalidate the session, and force the user to log on again.
  • Use an application firewall that can detect attacks against this weakness. It can be beneficial in cases in which the code cannot be fixed (because it is controlled by a third party), as an emergency prevention measure while more comprehensive software assurance measures are applied, or to provide defense in depth.

More Session Fixation vulnerabilities (CWE-384)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: yes, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in Hazelcast

All Hazelcast vulnerabilities

Recent Session Fixation vulnerabilities

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