SB20250704102 - Deserialization of untrusted data in Apache Kafka

Description

This security bulletin contains information about 1 security vulnerability.

1) Deserialization of Untrusted Data (CVE-ID: CVE-2025-27818)

The vulnerability allows a remote user to execute arbitrary code on the target system.

The vulnerability exists due to insecure input validation when processing serialized data. A remote user can set the sasl.jaas.config property for connector's Kafka clients to 'com.sun.security.auth.module.LdapLoginModule' through various override properties (producer.override.sasl.jaas.config, consumer.override.sasl.jaas.config, or admin.override.sasl.jaas.config). This configuration enables the server to connect to an attacker's LDAP server and deserialize the LDAP response, potentially leading to the execution of java deserialization gadget chains on the Kafka connect server. 

Remediation

Install update from vendor's website.

References

• https://kafka.apache.org/cve-list
• http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2025/06/09/2