CVE-2025-23368: Red Hat Data Grid Auth Bypass Flaw

CVE-2025-23368 Overview

A vulnerability has been identified in Wildfly Elytron integration that affects multiple Red Hat products including JBoss Enterprise Application Platform and Data Grid. The flaw exists because the component does not implement sufficient measures to prevent multiple failed authentication attempts within a short time frame, making it susceptible to brute force attacks via the command-line interface (CLI).

This authentication weakness allows attackers to repeatedly attempt credential combinations without being rate-limited or locked out, significantly increasing the likelihood of successful unauthorized access through credential guessing attacks.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this vulnerability over the network to brute force credentials, potentially gaining full access to affected systems with high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Affected Products

• Red Hat Data Grid 8.0
• Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 7.0.0
• Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 8.0.0
• Red Hat Wildfly Elytron

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-03-04 - CVE-2025-23368 published to NVD
• 2025-10-14 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-23368

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-307 (Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts). The Wildfly Elytron security framework, which provides security services for JBoss and related Red Hat products, fails to implement adequate protections against repeated authentication failures.

In a properly secured system, mechanisms such as account lockouts, progressive delays, or CAPTCHA challenges would be triggered after multiple failed login attempts. The absence of these controls in the CLI authentication pathway creates a significant security gap that can be exploited by automated attack tools.

The network-accessible nature of this vulnerability means attackers can launch brute force attacks remotely without any prior authentication or user interaction, making it particularly dangerous in internet-facing deployments.

Root Cause

The root cause is the absence of rate limiting and account lockout mechanisms in the Wildfly Elytron authentication module when processing CLI authentication requests. The component processes each authentication attempt independently without tracking failed attempts or implementing protective thresholds that would slow down or block repeated failures from the same source.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based, allowing remote exploitation. An attacker can target the CLI interface of affected systems and use automated tools to systematically attempt credential combinations. Without rate limiting or lockout policies, attackers can make unlimited authentication attempts at high speed.

The attack flow typically involves:

1. Identifying systems running vulnerable versions of JBoss EAP, Data Grid, or applications using Wildfly Elytron
2. Targeting the CLI authentication interface over the network
3. Using automated tools to attempt credential combinations rapidly
4. Gaining unauthorized access upon successful credential discovery

Since no user interaction or privileges are required, and the attack complexity is low, this vulnerability presents a straightforward exploitation path for attackers with network access to the target system.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-23368

Indicators of Compromise

• High volume of failed authentication attempts from single or multiple IP addresses targeting CLI interfaces
• Unusual patterns of login attempts occurring at rapid intervals
• Authentication logs showing systematic credential testing patterns (e.g., sequential usernames or common password lists)
• Network traffic analysis revealing automated tool signatures associated with brute force attacks

Detection Strategies

• Implement logging and alerting for failed authentication attempts against JBoss EAP and Data Grid CLI interfaces
• Deploy network intrusion detection systems (IDS) with rules to detect brute force attack patterns
• Configure SIEM solutions to correlate authentication failures and trigger alerts on threshold breaches
• Monitor for connections from known malicious IP addresses or Tor exit nodes targeting management interfaces

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose authentication logging in Wildfly Elytron and forward logs to centralized monitoring
• Establish baseline authentication patterns and alert on deviations
• Implement real-time dashboards tracking failed authentication metrics
• Review authentication logs regularly for signs of credential stuffing or brute force activity

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-23368

Immediate Actions Required

• Review and apply security patches from Red Hat when available by consulting the Red Hat CVE-2025-23368 Advisory
• Restrict network access to CLI management interfaces using firewall rules or network segmentation
• Implement external rate limiting at the network or application layer to throttle authentication attempts
• Enable multi-factor authentication where supported to reduce brute force attack effectiveness
• Review and strengthen password policies to ensure credentials are resistant to dictionary attacks

Patch Information

Red Hat has acknowledged this vulnerability and is tracking it in Bug Report #2337621. Organizations should monitor the Red Hat Security Advisory for official patch releases and apply updates according to their patch management procedures.

Affected products include Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform versions 7.0.0 and 8.0.0, Red Hat Data Grid 8.0, and the Wildfly Elytron component. Administrators should inventory all deployments using these components and prioritize patching based on exposure level.

Workarounds

• Implement network-level access controls to restrict CLI access to trusted IP addresses or networks only
• Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) or reverse proxy with rate limiting capabilities in front of management interfaces
• Configure external authentication mechanisms with built-in brute force protection if available
• Isolate management interfaces on separate network segments not accessible from untrusted networks
• Consider implementing fail2ban or similar tools to automatically block IPs after repeated failed attempts

# Example: Restrict CLI access using firewall rules (iptables)
# Allow CLI management port access only from trusted admin network
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 9990 -s 10.0.0.0/24 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 9990 -j DROP

# Example: Configure fail2ban filter for JBoss authentication failures
# /etc/fail2ban/filter.d/jboss-auth.conf
# [Definition]
# failregex = ^.*Authentication failed for user .* from <HOST>.*$