CVE-2024-24780: Apache IoTDB RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2024-24780 Overview

CVE-2024-24780 is a Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability affecting Apache IoTDB, a popular time-series database management system designed for IoT data storage and analysis. The vulnerability exists in the User-Defined Function (UDF) registration mechanism, allowing attackers with UDF creation privileges to register malicious functions from untrusted URIs. This can lead to arbitrary code execution on the affected IoTDB server.

Critical Impact

Attackers with UDF creation privileges can achieve remote code execution by registering malicious functions from untrusted URIs, potentially compromising the entire IoTDB server and any connected IoT infrastructure.

Affected Products

• Apache IoTDB versions 1.0.0 through 1.3.3
• Apache IoTDB deployments with UDF registration capabilities enabled
• Systems where users have been granted UDF creation privileges

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-05-14 - CVE-2024-24780 published to NVD
• 2025-07-01 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-24780

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability falls under CWE-94 (Improper Control of Generation of Code - Code Injection). The flaw resides in Apache IoTDB's UDF registration mechanism, which fails to properly validate or restrict the source URIs from which user-defined functions can be loaded. When a privileged user registers a UDF, the system does not adequately verify whether the specified URI points to a trusted source, enabling the loading and execution of malicious code.

The attack requires the attacker to have UDF creation privileges within the IoTDB environment. While this represents an authentication requirement, many IoTDB deployments may grant such privileges to application users or service accounts as part of normal operations, expanding the potential attack surface.

Root Cause

The root cause is insufficient input validation and trust boundary enforcement in the UDF registration subsystem. Apache IoTDB accepts arbitrary URIs for UDF registration without implementing proper allowlisting, signature verification, or source validation mechanisms. This design flaw allows privileged users to specify external, potentially malicious URIs that the server will fetch and execute as trusted code.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-accessible and exploits the UDF registration functionality. An attacker who has obtained or been granted UDF creation privileges can:

1. Host a malicious JAR file or code artifact on an attacker-controlled server
2. Use the IoTDB UDF registration interface to specify the malicious URI
3. Trigger the IoTDB server to fetch and load the malicious code
4. Achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the IoTDB server process

This vulnerability mechanism allows for code injection through the UDF registration interface. When the server processes a UDF registration request, it retrieves code from the specified URI without adequate validation of the source's trustworthiness. The malicious code then executes with the privileges of the IoTDB server process. For detailed technical information, refer to the Apache Security Announcement.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-24780

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual UDF registration requests referencing external or untrusted URIs
• Network connections from IoTDB servers to unexpected external endpoints
• Unexpected processes spawned by the IoTDB server process
• UDF entries in configuration pointing to non-organizational resources

Detection Strategies

• Monitor UDF registration events and audit logs for registrations using external URIs
• Implement network monitoring to detect outbound connections from IoTDB servers to untrusted destinations
• Review IoTDB audit logs for UDF creation activities by unauthorized or unusual users
• Deploy file integrity monitoring on IoTDB installation directories to detect unexpected JAR files

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable comprehensive logging for all UDF-related operations in Apache IoTDB
• Configure alerts for UDF registration events, especially those referencing external URLs
• Implement network segmentation to restrict IoTDB server egress traffic to known-good destinations
• Regularly audit user privileges to identify accounts with unnecessary UDF creation permissions

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-24780

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade Apache IoTDB to version 1.3.4 or later immediately
• Review and revoke UDF creation privileges from non-essential users and service accounts
• Audit existing UDF registrations for any suspicious or untrusted URIs
• Implement network-level controls to restrict IoTDB server outbound connections

Patch Information

Apache has released version 1.3.4 which addresses this vulnerability. Users are strongly recommended to upgrade from any version in the affected range (1.0.0 to 1.3.3). The fix implements proper validation and restrictions on UDF source URIs to prevent loading code from untrusted sources. For official patch information, see the Apache Security Announcement.

Workarounds

• Restrict UDF creation privileges to only essential administrative accounts until patching is complete
• Implement network egress filtering to block IoTDB servers from connecting to untrusted external hosts
• Disable UDF functionality entirely if not required for operations
• Deploy application-level firewalls or proxies to filter and log UDF registration requests

# Example: Restrict network egress for IoTDB server (Linux iptables)
# Allow only internal network and package repositories
iptables -A OUTPUT -m owner --uid-owner iotdb -d 10.0.0.0/8 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A OUTPUT -m owner --uid-owner iotdb -d 192.168.0.0/16 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A OUTPUT -m owner --uid-owner iotdb -j DROP