CVE-2026-33557A possible security vulnerability has been identified in Apache Kafka.
Updated under an hour ago ()
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No exploitation reported and no EPSS estimate yet.
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A possible security vulnerability has been identified in Apache Kafka. By default, the broker property `sasl.oauthbearer.jwt.validator.class` is set to `org.apache.kafka.common.security.oauthbearer.DefaultJwtValidator`. It accepts any JWT token without validating its signature, issuer, or audience. An attacker can generate a JWT token from any issuer with the `preferred_username` set to any user, and the broker will accept it. We advise the Kafka users using kafka v4.1.0 or v4.1.1 to set the config `sasl.oauthbearer.jwt.validator.class` to `org.apache.kafka.common.security.oauthbearer.BrokerJwtValidator` explicitly to avoid this vulnerability. Since Kafka v4.1.2 and v4.2.0 and later, the issue is fixed and will correctly validate the JWT token.
- CVSS
- 9.1 CRITICAL (v3.1, NVD)CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
- Weakness (CWE)
- CWE-1285, CWE-303
- Known exploited
- Not in CISA's KEV catalog
- EPSS (exploitation in the next 30 days)
- Not loaded for this CVE
- Assigned by
- Not given
- NVD analysis
- Modified
- Record last updated
- Jul 15, 2026
- First seen by InfoSec Signals
- Oct 9, 2026
Affected products
apache kafka apache:kafka | from 4.1.0 before 4.1.2 | NVD |
References
- https://kafka.apache.org/cve-listvendor-advisory
- https://lists.apache.org/thread/v57o00hm6yszdpdnvqx2ss4561yh953hmitigation, vendor-advisory
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/04/17/2mailing-list
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-33557
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2459739
- https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-33557.json
The CVE record on cve.org NVD's entry
The CVE record is authoritative. Products marked “from the name” were identified from the CNA's free-text names, not a CPE, and are matched less certainly. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.