In Apache ActiveMQ 6.x, the default configuration doesnt secure the API web context (where the Jolokia JMX REST API and the Message REST API are located). It means that anyone can use these layers without any required authentication. Potentially, anyone can interact with the broker (using Jolokia JMX REST API) and/or produce/consume messages or purge/delete destinations (using the Message REST API).
To mitigate, users can update the default conf/jetty.xml configuration file to add authentication requirement:
Or we encourage users to upgrade to Apache ActiveMQ 6.1.2 where the default configuration has been updated with authentication by default.
The product initializes or sets a resource with a default that is intended to be changed by the administrator, but the default is not secure.
Developers often choose default values that leave the product as open and easy to use as possible out-of-the-box, under the assumption that the administrator can (or should) change the default value. However, this ease-of-use comes at a cost when the default is insecure and the administrator does not change it.