Kafbat UI Vulnerabilities Allow Arbitrary Code Execution via JMX Services

A critical security vulnerability has been discovered in Kafbat UI, a popular web-based interface for managing Apache Kafka clusters, allowing unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected systems through unsafe deserialization attacks.

Critical Vulnerability Details

The vulnerability, designated as CVE-2025-49127, affects Kafbat UI version 1.0.0 and stems from the application’s dynamic cluster configuration functionality that accepts user-provided JMX endpoints without proper validation. 

This flaw enables attackers to exploit unsafe deserialization when the application attempts to connect to malicious JMX servers controlled by threat actors.

Technical Analysis

The vulnerability exploits the JMX (Java Management Extensions) connection handling mechanism within Kafbat UI’s metrics collection system. 

When administrators configure new Kafka clusters through the dynamic configuration API, the application automatically attempts to establish JMX connections to collect performance metrics.

However, the system fails to validate these endpoints properly, allowing attackers to specify malicious JMX servers that return crafted serialized objects.

The attack leverages Java deserialization gadget chains, particularly the CommonsCollections7 exploit, which can execute arbitrary commands through a series of method calls triggered during the deserialization process. 

This occurs automatically through the application’s scheduled metrics collection process, which runs every 30 seconds by default.

Security researchers have demonstrated that the vulnerability can be exploited remotely without authentication, making it particularly dangerous for organizations with internet-facing Kafbat UI instances. 

The attack process involves submitting malicious cluster configurations through the /api/config endpoint, which triggers automatic JMX connections to attacker-controlled servers.

The exploit enables complete system compromise, including reverse shell access and arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the Kafbat UI application. 

This could potentially allow attackers to access sensitive Kafka cluster data, modify configurations, or use the compromised system as a pivot point for lateral movement within the network.

Organizations using Kafbat UI should immediately upgrade to version 1.1.0 or later, which addresses this vulnerability. 

As an interim measure, administrators can disable the dynamic configuration feature by setting DYNAMIC_CONFIG_ENABLED: ‘false’ in their application configuration.

Additional security measures include implementing network segmentation to limit access to JMX ports, enabling authentication mechanisms, and establishing comprehensive monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts. 

Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should also be conducted to identify similar risks in enterprise environments.

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