CVE-2026-84501
An unauthenticated attacker can inject arbitrary fake log lines into Apache ZooKeeper's operational log by sending a crafted add_auth("ensemble", ...) request containing newline characters (\n).
Does this matter?
Lower severity and a low EPSS score (0.74%). Track it; it rarely justifies an emergency change on its own.
Description
An unauthenticated attacker can inject arbitrary fake log lines into Apache ZooKeeper's operational log by sending a crafted add_auth("ensemble", ...) request containing newline characters (\n). When the ensemble name doesn't match, EnsembleAuthenticationProvider.handleAuthentication() logs the raw, unsanitized name via LOG.warn(). Because SLF4J's {} placeholder preserves embedded newlines, the attacker can forge complete log entries — with arbitrary timestamps, log levels, class names, and messages — that are visually indistinguishable from genuine ZooKeeper log output. This issue affects Apache ZooKeeper: from 3.9.0 through 3.9.5, from 3.8.0 through 3.8.6. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 3.8.7 or 3.9.6, which fixes the issue.
- CVSS 3.1
- 5.3 MEDIUMCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
- EPSS
- 0.74% probability · 54th percentile
- Public exploits
- None in Exploit-DB
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Weakness
- CWE-117
- Affected
- apache/zookeeper
- Source
- security@apache.org
EPSS 0.7% since 26 October 2026; no change recorded yet. Points are recorded when the score first appears and whenever it moves by a percentage point or more.
References
- https://lists.apache.org/thread/ohby1g6zjt72p0w79rhbr41nczzvr33yMailing List, Vendor Advisory
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/09/15/7Mailing List
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.