Apache Cassandra Vulnerability

Apache Cassandra Vulnerability

A critical* Apache Cassandra vulnerability with a CVSS V3.1 Score of 9.1 has been released.

When running Apache Cassandra with the following configuration: enable_user_defined_functions: true enable_scripted_user_defined_functions: true enable_user_defined_functions_threads: false, it is possible for an attacker to execute arbitrary code on the host. The attacker would need to have enough permissions to create user defined functions in the cluster to be able to exploit this. Note that this configuration is documented as unsafe, and will continue to be considered unsafe after this CVE.

Affected Systems

The following servers/systems are affected by this vulnerability;

• Apache Cassandra versions up to 3.0, 3.11 and 4.0

IoC’s

-

Recommended Solution(s)

The following mitigations have been suggested;
Set “enable_user_defined_functions_threads: true” (this is default)
or
3.0 users should upgrade to 3.0.26
3.11 users should upgrade to 3.11.12
4.0 users should upgrade to 4.0.2

CVE / CWE

CVE-2021-44521

Related Website(s)

• https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-44521
• https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/02/11/4
• https://jfrog.com/blog/cve-2021-44521-exploiting-apache-cassandra-user-defined-functions-for-remote-code-execution/
• https://lists.apache.org/thread/y4nb9s4co34j8hdfmrshyl09lokm7356

* Vulnerabilities with a CVSS 3.1 score between 7.0 and 8.9 are evaluated to be “high” whereas vulnerabilities with a CVSS 3.1 score between 9.0 and 10.0 are evaluated to be “critical”.