CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2025-61673NVD status: Deferred

karapace: Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2025-61673 is a high-severity authentication bypass using an alternate path or channel vulnerability in karapace from Aiven-Open, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.6 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. Affected karapace versions: >= 5.0.0, < 5.0.2. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.39% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Check which version of karapace you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
  2. Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
  3. 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
Aiven-Openkarapace>= 5.0.0, < 5.0.2Not stated

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. 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
LowSome restricted data can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
LowPerformance or availability is reduced.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:L. Scored by CNA (github.com).

Official description

Karapace is an open-source implementation of Kafka REST and Schema Registry. Versions 5.0.0 and 5.0.1 contain an authentication bypass vulnerability when configured to use OAuth 2.0 Bearer Token authentication. If a request is sent without an Authorization header, the token validation logic is skipped entirely, allowing an unauthenticated user to read and write to Schema Registry endpoints that should otherwise be protected. This effectively renders the OAuth authentication mechanism ineffective. This issue is fixed in version 5.0.2.

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

The underlying weakness: Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel

The product requires authentication, but the product has an alternate path or channel that does not require authentication.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Funnel all access through a single choke point to simplify how users can access a resource. For every access, perform a check to determine if the user has permissions to access the resource.

More Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel vulnerabilities (CWE-288)

Timeline

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

References

Recent Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel vulnerabilities

Spotted an error? Tell us.