PT-2026-35414 · Apache · Apache Storm Client

Published

2026-04-27

·

Updated

2026-04-27

·

CVE-2026-41081

CVSS v3.1

6.5

Medium

AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
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

Fix

Improper Authentication

Weakness Enumeration

Related Identifiers

CVE-2026-41081

Affected Products

Apache Storm Client