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TrustEverythingTrustManager used by default in useSslProtocol() enables MITM

Moderate
ansd published GHSA-5m9f-rphj-c435 Jul 9, 2026

Package

maven com.rabbitmq:amqp-client (Maven)

Affected versions

< 5.33.0

Patched versions

5.33.0

Description

Vulnerability Summary

com.rabbitmq.client.TrustEverythingTrustManager accepts ANY TLS certificate (including null chains) and is used as the default trust manager when calling ConnectionFactory.useSslProtocol() without arguments. Combined with hostname verification being disabled by default, this enables trivial man-in-the-middle attacks.

Affected Components

  • com.rabbitmq.client.TrustEverythingTrustManager — accepts any certificate
  • com.rabbitmq.client.ConnectionFactory.useSslProtocol() — uses TrustEverythingTrustManager
  • Hostname verification disabled by default (enableHostnameVerification() must be called explicitly)
  • com.rabbitmq.client.ConnectionFactory.getPassword() — returns plaintext with no redaction
  • Default port 5672 (plaintext) with PLAIN SASL — credentials sent unencrypted

POC (Verified on Java 21, amqp-client 5.25.0)

// TrustEverythingTrustManager accepts ANY certificate including null
TrustEverythingTrustManager tm = new TrustEverythingTrustManager();
tm.checkServerTrusted(null, "RSA");  // No exception — accepts null cert chain
tm.getAcceptedIssuers();  // Returns empty array — trusts all CAs

// ConnectionFactory defaults
ConnectionFactory factory = new ConnectionFactory();
factory.useSslProtocol();  // Uses TrustEverythingTrustManager internally
// enableHostnameVerification() NOT called by default

// Credential exposure
factory.setPassword("secret_password_123");
factory.getPassword();  // Returns "secret_password_123" — no redaction

// Default plaintext port
factory.getPort();  // 5672 (plaintext, not 5671/TLS)

// PLAIN SASL sends cleartext credentials
PlainMechanism pm = new PlainMechanism();
// handleChallenge() sends username+password in cleartext

Attack Scenarios

  1. MITM: Attacker presents self-signed cert → TrustEverythingTrustManager accepts it → all RabbitMQ traffic intercepted
  2. Credential theft: Default plaintext port (5672) + PLAIN SASL = credentials readable on network
  3. DNS rebinding: No hostname verification → attacker DNS record → MITM without cert
  4. Logging exposure: getPassword() returns plaintext → credentials in logs/stack traces

CVSS 3.1: 8.1 (HIGH)

AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Suggested Fix

  1. Deprecate TrustEverythingTrustManager — it should never be used in production
  2. useSslProtocol() should use the JVM default trust store, not TrustEverything
  3. Enable hostname verification by default
  4. Redact password in getPassword() or remove the public getter
  5. Warn when using PLAIN SASL without TLS

Note from reporter (2026-06-29): Hi, glad to see this accepted. Could a CVE ID be requested from GitHub as part of this advisory? If not yet done, would you be able to request one when publishing? Happy to help with any details needed.

Reply from reporter (2026-06-29): Thanks Arnaud. Understood on points 4 and 5 — the fix for 1, 2, 3 looks solid. Looking forward to the release and CVE assignment. Happy to help with anything else needed.

Severity

Moderate

CVSS overall score

This score calculates overall vulnerability severity from 0 to 10 and is based on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).
/ 10

CVSS v4 base metrics

Exploitability Metrics
Attack Vector Network
Attack Complexity Low
Attack Requirements Present
Privileges Required Low
User interaction None
Vulnerable System Impact Metrics
Confidentiality None
Integrity None
Availability None
Subsequent System Impact Metrics
Confidentiality High
Integrity Low
Availability None

CVSS v4 base metrics

Exploitability Metrics
Attack Vector: This metric reflects the context by which vulnerability exploitation is possible. This metric value (and consequently the resulting severity) will be larger the more remote (logically, and physically) an attacker can be in order to exploit the vulnerable system. The assumption is that the number of potential attackers for a vulnerability that could be exploited from across a network is larger than the number of potential attackers that could exploit a vulnerability requiring physical access to a device, and therefore warrants a greater severity.
Attack Complexity: This metric captures measurable actions that must be taken by the attacker to actively evade or circumvent existing built-in security-enhancing conditions in order to obtain a working exploit. These are conditions whose primary purpose is to increase security and/or increase exploit engineering complexity. A vulnerability exploitable without a target-specific variable has a lower complexity than a vulnerability that would require non-trivial customization. This metric is meant to capture security mechanisms utilized by the vulnerable system.
Attack Requirements: This metric captures the prerequisite deployment and execution conditions or variables of the vulnerable system that enable the attack. These differ from security-enhancing techniques/technologies (ref Attack Complexity) as the primary purpose of these conditions is not to explicitly mitigate attacks, but rather, emerge naturally as a consequence of the deployment and execution of the vulnerable system.
Privileges Required: This metric describes the level of privileges an attacker must possess prior to successfully exploiting the vulnerability. The method by which the attacker obtains privileged credentials prior to the attack (e.g., free trial accounts), is outside the scope of this metric. Generally, self-service provisioned accounts do not constitute a privilege requirement if the attacker can grant themselves privileges as part of the attack.
User interaction: This metric captures the requirement for a human user, other than the attacker, to participate in the successful compromise of the vulnerable system. This metric determines whether the vulnerability can be exploited solely at the will of the attacker, or whether a separate user (or user-initiated process) must participate in some manner.
Vulnerable System Impact Metrics
Confidentiality: This metric measures the impact to the confidentiality of the information managed by the VULNERABLE SYSTEM due to a successfully exploited vulnerability. Confidentiality refers to limiting information access and disclosure to only authorized users, as well as preventing access by, or disclosure to, unauthorized ones.
Integrity: This metric measures the impact to integrity of a successfully exploited vulnerability. Integrity refers to the trustworthiness and veracity of information. Integrity of the VULNERABLE SYSTEM is impacted when an attacker makes unauthorized modification of system data. Integrity is also impacted when a system user can repudiate critical actions taken in the context of the system (e.g. due to insufficient logging).
Availability: This metric measures the impact to the availability of the VULNERABLE SYSTEM resulting from a successfully exploited vulnerability. While the Confidentiality and Integrity impact metrics apply to the loss of confidentiality or integrity of data (e.g., information, files) used by the system, this metric refers to the loss of availability of the impacted system itself, such as a networked service (e.g., web, database, email). Since availability refers to the accessibility of information resources, attacks that consume network bandwidth, processor cycles, or disk space all impact the availability of a system.
Subsequent System Impact Metrics
Confidentiality: This metric measures the impact to the confidentiality of the information managed by the SUBSEQUENT SYSTEM due to a successfully exploited vulnerability. Confidentiality refers to limiting information access and disclosure to only authorized users, as well as preventing access by, or disclosure to, unauthorized ones.
Integrity: This metric measures the impact to integrity of a successfully exploited vulnerability. Integrity refers to the trustworthiness and veracity of information. Integrity of the SUBSEQUENT SYSTEM is impacted when an attacker makes unauthorized modification of system data. Integrity is also impacted when a system user can repudiate critical actions taken in the context of the system (e.g. due to insufficient logging).
Availability: This metric measures the impact to the availability of the SUBSEQUENT SYSTEM resulting from a successfully exploited vulnerability. While the Confidentiality and Integrity impact metrics apply to the loss of confidentiality or integrity of data (e.g., information, files) used by the system, this metric refers to the loss of availability of the impacted system itself, such as a networked service (e.g., web, database, email). Since availability refers to the accessibility of information resources, attacks that consume network bandwidth, processor cycles, or disk space all impact the availability of a system.
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:H/SI:L/SA:N

CVE ID

CVE-2026-63336

Weaknesses

No CWEs

Credits