basicsecurity.net
Proof, not just disclosure.
Threats / Apache / CVE-2023-33246
CVE-2023-33246 · EUVD no mirror located · GCVE no mirror located Verified 2026-06-22

Apache RocketMQ vulnerability

Apache RocketMQ lacks permission verification on exposed network components, allowing remote command execution through configuration update functions or protocol forgery.

Verdict

Today item — known-exploited.

An unauthenticated attacker can execute arbitrary commands with RocketMQ process privileges by exploiting missing access controls on NameServer, Broker, and Controller components accessible over the network.

CISA KEV Yes · 2023-09-063EPSS 0.96604 (verify live)4Exploit Weaponized · public PoC5
01

Is it exploitable?

— the evidence, ranked above the score
Exploit available
Fully weaponized — public exploit code is cataloged for this vulnerability.We link the existence of the exploit; we do not host or redistribute payloads.
Reported exploitation
549 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2023-09-06).
CISA KEV ↗Confirmed
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.96604 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
Affected: Apache, RocketMQ. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.
NVD ↗Reported
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-94 Code Injection — weakness family: Injection.CWE assignment from the public NVD record; the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
NVD ↗Reported
WeaknessCWE-94 · Code InjectionInjection
02

Who’s exploiting it?

— attribution turns risk into urgency
Attribution not established

No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.

03

Why it matters

— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board
1

Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1

Attacker
I identify exposed RocketMQ components on the network without authentication requirements.
Business
Reconnaissance reveals critical messaging infrastructure is directly accessible from untrusted networks.
2

Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2

Attacker
I send a crafted update configuration request or forged RocketMQ protocol message to trigger command execution.
Business
The organization's messaging system processes attacker-controlled input as trusted configuration.
3

Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3

Attacker
I execute arbitrary system commands with the privileges of the RocketMQ process user.
Business
An attacker gains code execution within the infrastructure running critical message broker services.
04

What to do

— defensible action
  • Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05

Coverage & confidence

— what we know, and what we don’t

Established (cited)

  • KEV listing (CISA)
  • EPSS probability (FIRST)
  • Weaponized exploit available (VulnCheck)
  • 549 reported-exploitation source(s)
  • CWE weakness mapping (NVD)
  • Public exploit availability
  • Catalogued by apache (CNA)
  • Named finder/reporter credit (CVE.org)
  • Coverage gaps — stated, not hidden

  • No EUVD / GCVE mirror in feed — single-authority dependency for the identifier.
  • EPSS & exposure are time-varying; verify live at the source.
  • Threat-actor attribution not established from feed data — absence of a name is not absence of compromise.
  • Disclosure & credit2
    Catalogued by apacheCNA
    Credited with finding it[email protected]reporter