Description
Improper Handling of TLS Client Authentication Failure Leading to Anonymous Principal Assignment in Apache Storm

Versions Affected: up to 2.8.7

Description: When TLS transport is enabled in Apache Storm without requiring client certificate authentication (the default configuration), the TlsTransportPlugin assigns a fallback principal (CN=ANONYMOUS) if no client certificate is presented or if certificate verification fails. The underlying SSLPeerUnverifiedException is caught and suppressed rather than rejecting the connection.

This fail-open behavior means an unauthenticated client can establish a TLS connection and receive a valid principal identity. If the configured authorizer (e.g., SimpleACLAuthorizer) does not explicitly deny access to CN=ANONYMOUS, this may result in unauthorized access to Storm services. The condition is logged at debug level only, reducing visibility in production.

Impact: Unauthenticated clients may be assigned a principal identity, potentially bypassing authorization in permissive or misconfigured environments.

Mitigation: Users should upgrade to 2.8.7 in which TLS authentication failures are handled in a fail-closed manner.

Users who cannot upgrade immediately should:
- Enable mandatory client certificate authentication (nimbus.thrift.tls.client.auth.required: true)
- Ensure authorization rules explicitly deny access to CN=ANONYMOUS
- Review all ACL configurations for implicit default-allow behavior
Published: 2026-04-27
Score: 6.5 Medium
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: Unauthorized Access via Fallback Principal
Action: Immediate Patch
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Remediation

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Tracking

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Advisories
Source ID Title
Github GHSA Github GHSA GHSA-j2q8-xx3q-8fqh Apache Storm's Improper Handling of TLS Client Authentication Failure Leads to Anonymous Principal Assignment
History

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 20:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
CPEs cpe:2.3:a:apache:storm:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 09:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Apache
Apache storm
Vendors & Products Apache
Apache storm

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 15:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 6.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N'}

ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'yes', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Mon, 27 Apr 2026 14:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 13:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description Improper Handling of TLS Client Authentication Failure Leading to Anonymous Principal Assignment in Apache Storm Versions Affected: up to 2.8.7 Description: When TLS transport is enabled in Apache Storm without requiring client certificate authentication (the default configuration), the TlsTransportPlugin assigns a fallback principal (CN=ANONYMOUS) if no client certificate is presented or if certificate verification fails. The underlying SSLPeerUnverifiedException is caught and suppressed rather than rejecting the connection. This fail-open behavior means an unauthenticated client can establish a TLS connection and receive a valid principal identity. If the configured authorizer (e.g., SimpleACLAuthorizer) does not explicitly deny access to CN=ANONYMOUS, this may result in unauthorized access to Storm services. The condition is logged at debug level only, reducing visibility in production. Impact: Unauthenticated clients may be assigned a principal identity, potentially bypassing authorization in permissive or misconfigured environments. Mitigation: Users should upgrade to 2.8.7 in which TLS authentication failures are handled in a fail-closed manner. Users who cannot upgrade immediately should: - Enable mandatory client certificate authentication (nimbus.thrift.tls.client.auth.required: true) - Ensure authorization rules explicitly deny access to CN=ANONYMOUS - Review all ACL configurations for implicit default-allow behavior
Title Apache Storm Client: Anonymous principal assigned on TLS client certificate verification failure
Weaknesses CWE-287
References

cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: apache

Published:

Updated: 2026-04-27T14:43:31.605Z

Reserved: 2026-04-16T17:22:43.617Z

Link: CVE-2026-41081

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-04-27T13:36:46.761Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Analyzed

Published: 2026-04-27T14:16:48.167

Modified: 2026-04-28T19:46:06.647

Link: CVE-2026-41081

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-04-28T09:17:09Z

Weaknesses