Affected Products and Versions
* Apache Druid
* Affected Versions: 0.17.0 through 35.x (all versions prior to 36.0.0)
* Prerequisites: * druid-basic-security extension enabled
* LDAP authenticator configured
* Underlying LDAP server permits anonymous bind
Vulnerability Description
An authentication bypass vulnerability exists in Apache Druid when using the druid-basic-security extension with LDAP authentication. If the underlying LDAP server is configured to allow anonymous
binds, an attacker can bypass authentication by providing an existing username with an empty password. This allows unauthorized access to otherwise restricted Druid resources without valid credentials.
The vulnerability stems from improper validation of LDAP authentication responses when anonymous binds are permitted, effectively treating anonymous bind success as valid user authentication.
Impact
A remote, unauthenticated attacker can:
* Gain unauthorized access to the Apache Druid cluster
* Access sensitive data stored in Druid datasources
* Execute queries and potentially manipulate data
* Access administrative interfaces if the bypassed account has elevated privileges
* Completely compromise the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the Druid deployment
Mitigation
Immediate Mitigation (No Druid Upgrade Required):
* Disable anonymous bind on your LDAP server. This prevents the vulnerability from being exploitable and is the recommended immediate action.
Resolution
* Upgrade Apache Druid to version 36.0.0 or later, which includes fixes to properly reject anonymous LDAP bind attempts.
CVSS Score
9.8
EPSS Score
0.001
Published
2026-02-10
Apache Druid’s Kerberos authenticator uses a weak fallback secret when the `druid.auth.authenticator.kerberos.cookieSignatureSecret` configuration is not explicitly set. In this case, the secret is generated using `ThreadLocalRandom`,
which is not a crypto-graphically secure random number generator. This
may allow an attacker to predict or brute force the secret used to sign
authentication cookies, potentially enabling token forgery or
authentication bypass. Additionally, each process generates its own
fallback secret, resulting in inconsistent secrets across nodes. This
causes authentication failures in distributed or multi-broker
deployments, effectively leading to a incorrectly configured clusters. Users are
advised to configure a strong `druid.auth.authenticator.kerberos.cookieSignatureSecret`
This issue affects Apache Druid: through 34.0.0.
Users are recommended to upgrade to version 35.0.0, which fixes the issue making it mandatory to set `druid.auth.authenticator.kerberos.cookieSignatureSecret` when using the Kerberos authenticator. Services will fail to come up if the secret is not set.
CVSS Score
9.8
EPSS Score
0.001
Published
2025-11-26