GHSA-MXVW-9W3G-HMRQ
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-09-16 12:30 – Updated: 2026-09-16 12:30When audit logging is enabled (zookeeper.audit.enable=true), an unauthenticated attacker can inject arbitrary fields into Apache ZooKeeper's audit log by sending a digest authentication request with tab characters (\t) embedded in the username. Because the audit log uses tab-separated key=value format, the injected tabs are parsed as legitimate field separators, allowing the attacker to spoof audit results (e.g., injecting result=success), forge operation types, and corrupt forensic evidence.
A log injection vulnerability in Apache ZooKeeper allows a client that can call setACL to inject forged key-value fields into zookeeper_audit.log. When audit logging is enabled, the server serializes attacker-controlled digest ACL ids into the acl= audit field without escaping tab characters. Because audit events are emitted as tab-separated key=value records, a crafted ACL id can make one successful setAcl event appear to contain forged fields such as operation=delete and znode=/forged. This undermines the integrity of downstream audit parsing, alerting, and incident response.
This issue affects Apache ZooKeeper: from 3.9.0 through 3.9.5, from 3.8.0 through 3.8.6.
Users are recommended to upgrade to version 3.9.6 or 3.8.7, which fixes the issue.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-84439"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-117"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2026-09-16T10:16:53Z",
"severity": null
},
"details": "When audit logging is enabled (zookeeper.audit.enable=true), an unauthenticated attacker can inject arbitrary fields into Apache ZooKeeper\u0027s audit log by sending a digest authentication request with tab characters (\\t) embedded in the username. Because the audit log uses tab-separated\u00a0key=value\u00a0format, the injected tabs are parsed as legitimate field separators, allowing the attacker to spoof audit results (e.g., injecting\u00a0result=success), forge operation types, and corrupt forensic evidence.\n\nA log injection vulnerability in Apache ZooKeeper allows a client that can call\u00a0setACL\u00a0to inject forged key-value fields into\u00a0zookeeper_audit.log. When audit logging is enabled, the server serializes attacker-controlled digest ACL ids into the\u00a0acl=\u00a0audit field without escaping tab characters. Because audit events are emitted as tab-separated\u00a0key=value\u00a0records, a crafted ACL id can make one successful\u00a0setAcl\u00a0event appear to contain forged fields such as\u00a0operation=delete\u00a0and\u00a0znode=/forged. This undermines the integrity of downstream audit parsing, alerting, and incident response.\n\nThis issue affects Apache ZooKeeper: from 3.9.0 through 3.9.5, from 3.8.0 through 3.8.6.\n\nUsers are recommended to upgrade to version 3.9.6 or 3.8.7, which fixes the issue.",
"id": "GHSA-mxvw-9w3g-hmrq",
"modified": "2026-09-16T12:30:31Z",
"published": "2026-09-16T12:30:31Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-84439"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://lists.apache.org/thread/b7qnjvqjh393l0j07tmnb5ggg40sx3m6"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/09/15/6"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": []
}
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