Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2026-4370 is a critical-severity Improper Certificate Validation (CWE-295) vulnerability in Canonical Juju. Its CVSS base score is 10.0 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 31th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-14 (Permitted Actions Without Identification or Authentication) and IA-2 (Identification and Authentication (Organizational Users)) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2026-4370 is a critical vulnerability in Juju, an open-source orchestration tool for managing containerized applications, affecting versions 3.2.0 through 3.6.19 and 4.0 through 4.0.4. The flaw resides in the internal Dqlite database cluster used by the Juju controller, where proper TLS client and server authentication is not enforced. Specifically, the controller's database endpoint fails to validate client certificates during the cluster join process for new nodes, linked to CWEs-295 (Improper Certificate Validation) and CWE-306 (Missing Authentication for Critical Function). It carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 10.0 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating maximum severity due to its network-accessible, unauthenticated nature with high impact across confidentiality, integrity, and availability in a scoped attack.
An unauthenticated attacker with network reachability to the Juju controller's Dqlite port can exploit this by impersonating a legitimate node to join the database cluster. Once joined, the attacker obtains full read and write access to the underlying database, enabling complete data compromise, including extraction, modification, or deletion of sensitive configuration, model data, and operational state managed by Juju.
Mitigation details and patches are outlined in the official advisory at https://github.com/juju/juju/security/advisories/GHSA-gvrj-cjch-728p, which security practitioners should consult for upgrade paths beyond the affected versions.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-17847
Vulnerability Data
A vulnerability was identified in Juju from version 3.2.0 until 3.6.19 and from version 4.0 until 4.0.4, where the internal Dqlite database cluster fails to perform proper TLS client and server authentication. Specifically, the Juju controller's database endpoint does not…
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validate client certificates when a new node attempts to join the cluster. An unauthenticated attacker with network reachability to the Juju controller's Dqlite port can exploit this flaw to join the database cluster. Once joined, the attacker gains full read and write access to the underlying database, allowing for total data compromise.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 18 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
V6.2.3V6.4.4V10.4.16V12.1.3
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly mandates unique identification and authentication of users before access to functions requiring identity.
Extends the same authentication requirement to non-organizational users accessing critical functionality.
Requires authentication of services before they can invoke or expose critical functions.
Explicitly identifies and limits actions permitted without authentication, preventing critical functions from being exposed.
PKI certificate issuance and acquisition under an approved policy establishes the trusted roots and processes needed for correct validation.
Access enforcement requires prior authentication before any authorization decision for critical functions.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Directly requires authentication of users/services/hardware, which eliminates missing authentication for critical functions.
Proper certificate validation is a core mechanism for protecting data-in-transit confidentiality and integrity.
Secure development practices explicitly include implementing correct certificate validation logic.
Assessing authenticity/integrity of acquired software often relies on code-signing certificate validation.
Managing identities and credentials is a prerequisite for authentication but does not itself enforce it on critical functions.
Identity assertions conveyed via certificates require validation to be verified.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
The control explicitly calls for authentication before any critical function is reached, eliminating the possibility of bypassing authentication for high-value operations.
Mandating authentication requirements for critical functions at the requirements-gathering stage ensures that essential operations are not left unprotected by missing login or verification mechanisms.
Mandating authentication for network services and critical functions stops attackers from invoking sensitive operations without credentials, closing gaps where authentication is absent for important capabilities.
Requiring issuance and validation of public-key certificates under an approved policy reduces the chance that certificates with improper validation will be trusted.
Security engineering principles insist on authentication and authorization for every critical function, eliminating entry points that lack any access control mechanism.
Requiring strong authentication and access-privilege enablement for remote connections ensures that critical functions cannot be invoked without proper verification, closing a gap that would otherwise allow unauthenticated use.
Hardening callouts derived
Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).
Oracle Linux 8 (5 rules)
- V-248574 YUM must be configured to prevent the installation of patches, service packs, device drivers, or OL 8 system components that have not been digitally signed using a certificate that is recognized and approved by the organization. prevents CWE-295
- V-248531 OL 8, for PKI-based authentication, must validate certificates by constructing a certification path (which includes status information) to an accepted trust anchor. prevents CWE-295
- V-248575 OL 8 must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components of local packages without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. prevents CWE-295
RHEL 7 (4 rules)
- V-204442 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-306
- V-204447 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components from a repository without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. prevents CWE-295
- V-204448 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components of local packages without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. prevents CWE-295
RHEL 8 (4 rules)
- V-230492 RHEL 8 must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-306
- V-230264 RHEL 8 must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components from a repository without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. prevents CWE-295
- V-230265 RHEL 8 must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components of local packages without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. prevents CWE-295