By default, the broker property `sasl.oauthbearer.jwt.validator.class` is set to `org.apache.kafka.common.security.oauthbearer.DefaultJwtValidator`. It accepts any JWT token without validating its signature, issuer, or audience. An attacker can generate a JWT token from any issuer with the `preferred_username` set to any user, and the broker will accept it.
We advise the Kafka users using kafka v4.1.0 or v4.1.1 to set the config `sasl.oauthbearer.jwt.validator.class` to `org.apache.kafka.common.security.oauthbearer.BrokerJwtValidator` explicitly to avoid this vulnerability. Since Kafka v4.1.2 and v4.2.0 and later, the issue is fixed and will correctly validate the JWT token.
Analysis and contextual insights are available on OpenCVE Cloud.
No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.
Additional remediation guidance may be available on OpenCVE Cloud.
Tracking
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| Source | ID | Title |
|---|---|---|
Github GHSA |
GHSA-28jg-cgg7-j4wc | Apache Kafka does not validate JWT tokens in its OAUTHBEARER authentication implementation |
Fri, 24 Apr 2026 00:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Weaknesses | CWE-303 | |
| References |
| |
| Metrics |
threat_severity
|
threat_severity
|
Wed, 22 Apr 2026 14:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:a:apache:kafka:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
Mon, 20 Apr 2026 16:45:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| First Time appeared |
Apache
Apache kafka |
|
| Vendors & Products |
Apache
Apache kafka |
Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Metrics |
cvssV3_1
|
Mon, 20 Apr 2026 14:30:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| References |
|
Mon, 20 Apr 2026 14:00:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | A possible security vulnerability has been identified in Apache Kafka. By default, the broker property `sasl.oauthbearer.jwt.validator.class` is set to `org.apache.kafka.common.security.oauthbearer.DefaultJwtValidator`. It accepts any JWT token without validating its signature, issuer, or audience. An attacker can generate a JWT token from any issuer with the `preferred_username` set to any user, and the broker will accept it. We advise the Kafka users using kafka v4.1.0 or v4.1.1 to set the config `sasl.oauthbearer.jwt.validator.class` to `org.apache.kafka.common.security.oauthbearer.BrokerJwtValidator` explicitly to avoid this vulnerability. Since Kafka v4.1.2 and v4.2.0 and later, the issue is fixed and will correctly validate the JWT token. | |
| Title | Apache Kafka: Missing JWT token validation in OAUTHBEARER authentication | |
| Weaknesses | CWE-1285 | |
| References |
|
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: apache
Published:
Updated: 2026-04-20T14:30:30.936Z
Reserved: 2026-03-23T03:14:53.527Z
Link: CVE-2026-33557
Updated: 2026-04-20T13:38:51.117Z
Status : Analyzed
Published: 2026-04-20T14:16:18.780
Modified: 2026-04-22T14:14:52.030
Link: CVE-2026-33557
OpenCVE Enrichment
Updated: 2026-04-28T21:45:26Z
Github GHSA