Apache Geode versions up to 1.12.2 and 1.13.2 are vulnerable to a deserialization of untrusted data flaw when using JMX over RMI on Java 11. Any user wishing to protect against deserialization attacks involving JMX or RMI should upgrade to Apache Geode 1.15. Use of 1.15 on Java 11 will automatically protect JMX over RMI against deserialization attacks. This should have no impact on performance since it only affects JMX/RMI which Gfsh uses to communicate with the JMX Manager which is hosted on a Locator.
The product deserializes untrusted data without sufficiently verifying that the resulting data will be valid.
| Name | Vendor | Start Version | End Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geode | Apache | * | 1.12.2 (including) |
| Geode | Apache | 1.13.0 (including) | 1.13.2 (including) |
It is often convenient to serialize objects for communication or to save them for later use. However, deserialized data or code can often be modified without using the provided accessor functions if it does not use cryptography to protect itself. Furthermore, any cryptography would still be client-side security – which is a dangerous security assumption. Data that is untrusted can not be trusted to be well-formed. When developers place no restrictions on “gadget chains,” or series of instances and method invocations that can self-execute during the deserialization process (i.e., before the object is returned to the caller), it is sometimes possible for attackers to leverage them to perform unauthorized actions, like generating a shell.