CVE-2021-38153
Publication date 22 September 2021
Last updated 26 August 2025
Ubuntu priority
Description
Some components in Apache Kafka use `Arrays.equals` to validate a password or key, which is vulnerable to timing attacks that make brute force attacks for such credentials more likely to be successful. Users should upgrade to 2.8.1 or higher, or 3.0.0 or higher where this vulnerability has been fixed. The affected versions include Apache Kafka 2.0.0, 2.0.1, 2.1.0, 2.1.1, 2.2.0, 2.2.1, 2.2.2, 2.3.0, 2.3.1, 2.4.0, 2.4.1, 2.5.0, 2.5.1, 2.6.0, 2.6.1, 2.6.2, 2.7.0, 2.7.1, and 2.8.0.
Status
| Package | Ubuntu Release | Status |
|---|---|---|
| kafka | 26.04 LTS resolute | Not in release |
| 24.04 LTS noble | Not in release | |
| 22.04 LTS jammy | Not in release | |
| 20.04 LTS focal | Not in release | |
| 18.04 LTS bionic |
Vulnerable
|
|
| 16.04 LTS xenial | Ignored end of standard support | |
| 14.04 LTS trusty | Not in release |
Severity score breakdown
CVSS version: CVSS v3.0
Base score
5.9 · Medium
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N