Background & Context

Apache RocketMQ is a distributed messaging and streaming platform with low latency, high performance and reliability, trillion-level capacity and flexible scalability. It is the third generation distributed messaging middleware open sourced by Alibaba in 2012. On November 21, 2016, Alibaba donated RocketMQ to the Apache Software Foundation.

Apache RocketMQ is one of the most popular and widely used distributed messaging and streaming platforms.

Vulnerability Summary

For RocketMQ versions 5.1.0 and below, under certain conditions, there is a risk of remote command execution.

Several components of RocketMQ, including NameServer, Broker, and Controller, may unsafely be accessible on the extranet (internet) and lack permission verification. These components allow the injection of Code into the control plane.

Impact If Exploited

An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by using the update configuration function to execute commands as the system users that RocketMQ is running as. Additionally, an attacker can achieve the same effect by forging the RocketMQ protocol content.

NOTE: This vulnerability has been reported by the CISA (America’s Cyber Defense Agency) to be known to be currently actively exploited in the wild as of 2023-09-07. Additionally, proof-of-concept (PoC) code is publicly available. As such, attacks that leverage the vulnerability are expected to increase and this vulnerability should be treated as high/critical priority for remediation. AppCheck advises that the vendor patch should be applied as soon as possible.

Affected Product Versions

• RocketMQ version 5.x prior to release 5.1.1
• RocketMQ version 4.x prior to release 4.9.6

Remediation

Official Fix & Remediation Guidance

To prevent these attacks, users are recommended to upgrade to version 5.1.1 or above for using RocketMQ 5.x or 4.9.6 or above for using RocketMQ 4.x. Updates to RocketMQ may be downloaded via the RocketMQ downloads page, at https://rocketmq.apache.org/download/. Customers are advised to update to the latest version.

NOTE: This vulnerability has been reported by the CISA (America’s Cyber Defense Agency) to be known to be currently actively exploited in the wild as of 2023-09-07. Additionally, proof-of-concept (PoC) code is publicly available. As such, attacks that leverage the vulnerability are expected to increase and this vulnerability should be treated as high/critical priority for remediation. AppCheck advises that the vendor patch should be applied as soon as possible.

NOTE: Remediation of this vulnerability by patching to a specific version indicated may not be sufficient to secure the product against further vulnerabilities discovered in later versions, subsequent to the publication of this guidance. Unless contra-indicated, customers are therefore advised to always upgrade to the latest version of the product available.

Temporary Mitigation & Workarounds

(The vendor has not advised of any alternative temporary mitigation or workarounds)

NOTE: Caution should always be taken in applying any temporary mitigations listed. Mitigations are only recommended in cases where patches to remediate the vulnerability are not available, or cannot safely be applied to a given environment immediately. A given mitigation may not in all cases be recommended officially by the application vendor. The viability of any given temporary mitigation measure may vary, depending on server platform and existing configuration. Mitigations listed may incompletely remediate any given vulnerability. Configuration changes to implement listed mitigations may impact/disrupt required functionality within a given customer application. Care should therefore be taken to carefully analyse any listed mitigations for appropriateness to a given environment. Customers are advised to test any configuration changes prior to their being introduced into a production environment.

References:

• http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/173339/Apache-RocketMQ-5.1.0-Arbitrary-Code-Injection.html
• http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/07/12/1
• https://lists.apache.org/thread/1s8j2c8kogthtpv3060yddk03zq0pxyp
• https://github.com/apache/rocketmq/commit/c3ada731405c5990c36bf58d50b3e61965300703
• https://github.com/apache/rocketmq/commit/9d411cf04a695e7a3f41036e8377b0aa544d754d

Category: Arbitrary Command Execution

Detection

AppCheck has added a plugin to detect the flaw that will run as part of your standard scans.

About AppCheck

AppCheck is a software security vendor based in the UK, offering a leading security scanning platform that automates the discovery of security flaws within organisations websites, applications, network, and cloud infrastructure. AppCheck are authorized by the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) Program as a CVE Numbering Authority (CNA).