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.

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Wed, 16 Sep 2026 09:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
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.
Title Apache ZooKeeper: Operational log forgery via newline injection in EnsembleAuthenticationProvider
Weaknesses CWE-117
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cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: apache

Published:

Updated: 2026-09-16T10:12:02.894Z

Reserved: 2026-09-01T20:56:03.868Z

Link: CVE-2026-84501

cve-icon Vulnrichment

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cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-09-16T10:16:53.557

Modified: 2026-09-16T10:16:53.557

Link: CVE-2026-84501

cve-icon Redhat

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cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

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Weaknesses