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
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-j2q8-xx3q-8fqh | Apache Storm's Improper Handling of TLS Client Authentication Failure Leads to Anonymous Principal Assignment |
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
|
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 |
|
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: apache
Published:
Updated: 2026-04-27T14:43:31.605Z
Reserved: 2026-04-16T17:22:43.617Z
Link: CVE-2026-41081
Updated: 2026-04-27T13:36:46.761Z
Status : Analyzed
Published: 2026-04-27T14:16:48.167
Modified: 2026-04-28T19:46:06.647
Link: CVE-2026-41081
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
Updated: 2026-04-28T09:17:09Z
Github GHSA