CVE-2024-28255
Published: 15 March 2024
Summary
CVE-2024-28255 is a critical-severity Improper Authentication (CWE-287) vulnerability in Open-Metadata Openmetadata. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, ranked in the top 0.1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
Deeper analysis
OpenMetadata's JwtFilter component, responsible for validating JWT tokens on incoming API requests, contains an authentication bypass flaw. The filter skips validation for any request path matching a hardcoded list of excluded endpoints, but an attacker can inject arbitrary path segments via URL-encoded path parameters such as a semicolon, causing the check to match excluded strings like /users/login and thereby reach protected endpoints without presenting a valid token. The issue affects all versions prior to 1.2.4 and carries a CVSS score of 9.8.
An unauthenticated remote attacker can therefore invoke any API endpoint that the filter would otherwise protect, including those that accept attacker-controlled input leading to SpEL expression injection and full system compromise. The bypass fails only on endpoints that explicitly call SecurityContext.getUserPrincipal, which would receive a null value and trigger a null-pointer exception.
The project’s security advisory GHSA-6wx7-qw5p-wh84 and the accompanying code references confirm that the vulnerability is tracked as GHSL-2023-237 and has been resolved by upgrading to OpenMetadata 1.2.4; no workarounds are available. The associated EPSS score remains near 0.94 with no documented low-to-high trajectory after disclosure.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2024-25354
Vulnerability details
OpenMetadata is a unified platform for discovery, observability, and governance powered by a central metadata repository, in-depth lineage, and seamless team collaboration. The `JwtFilter` handles the API authentication by requiring and verifying JWT tokens. When a new request comes in,…
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the request's path is checked against this list. When the request's path contains any of the excluded endpoints the filter returns without validating the JWT. Unfortunately, an attacker may use Path Parameters to make any path contain any arbitrary strings. For example, a request to `GET /api/v1;v1%2fusers%2flogin/events/subscriptions/validation/condition/111` will match the excluded endpoint condition and therefore will be processed with no JWT validation allowing an attacker to bypass the authentication mechanism and reach any arbitrary endpoint, including the ones listed above that lead to arbitrary SpEL expression injection. This bypass will not work when the endpoint uses the `SecurityContext.getUserPrincipal()` since it will return `null` and will throw an NPE. This issue may lead to authentication bypass and has been addressed in version 1.2.4. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability. This issue is also tracked as `GHSL-2023-237`.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Detects unauthorized successful logons resulting from improper authentication implementations.
Documented procedures ensure personnel are trained on authentication mechanisms, tangibly lowering the risk of improper authentication being exploited.
Security awareness training instructs users on secure authentication practices and avoiding credential compromise.
Training on authentication mechanisms and best practices decreases the occurrence of improper authentication.
Non-repudiation requires strong authentication mechanisms to irrefutably attribute performed actions to specific individuals or processes.
Session content review can reveal authentication bypasses or failures in session establishment.
Review of authentication-related audit records can detect improper authentication mechanisms or bypasses.
Assessments check authentication mechanisms for correct implementation and effectiveness, reducing successful authentication bypass attempts.