Central Dogma: Hard-coded ZooKeeper replication secret 'ch4n63m3' with silent fallback enables cluster takeover

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS 4.0

9.4 · CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H · score source

EPSS

• CVE-2026-11746: 0.23% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 13.58 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Vulnerability ZooKeeperReplicationConfig.secret() silently substitutes the hard-coded constant "ch4n63m3" (leetspeak for "change me") whenever the operator omits replication.secret. The same secret is wired into both the client-facing SASL context and the quorum/learner SASL contexts of the embedded ZooKeeper. The constant is in OSS source on GitHub and is discoverable via code search in seconds. Three Reinforcing Defects 1. OSS-public credential — DEFAULTSECRET is in line/centraldogma source. 2. Silent fallback — firstNonNull(convertValue(...), DEFAULTSECRET) substitutes the default with no log, no warning, no startup banner. The only sanity check checkArgument(!secret().isEmpty(), ...) passes because the getter substitutes the literal before the emptiness check runs. 3. Dual-purpose secret — used for both ZK client-port super auth and inter-peer quorum SASL. A single leaked password authenticates against both surfaces. Architecture Context (Important) Central Dogma does NOT connect…

Published by the source

11 Sep 2026, 20:44 UTC

Last modified by the source

11 Sep 2026, 21:00 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 16:55 UTC

1. Revision 3 · amended · 26 Oct 2026

   Amended from ghsa record GHSA-2j95-gqxf-v3vg

2. Revision 2 · amended · 25 Oct 2026

   Reviewed OSV alias/range/CVSS4 correction; package source scopes and original publication preserved. No customer finding resolved.

3. Revision 1 · created · 24 Oct 2026

   Published from osv record GHSA-2j95-gqxf-v3vg

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-11746

Advisory: Central Dogma: Hard-coded ZooKeeper replication secret 'ch4n63m3' with silent fallback enables cluster takeover
IDs: CVE-2026-11746, GHSA-2j95-gqxf-v3vg
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-11746 (revision 3, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 16:55 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Critical (CVSS 9.4)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: com.linecorp.centraldogma:centraldogma-server 0.84.0. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Maven com.linecorp.centraldogma:centraldogma-server: affected < 0.84.0; fixed in 0.84.0

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- Maven com.linecorp.centraldogma:centraldogma-server: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on com.linecorp.centraldogma:centraldogma-server.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-2j95-gqxf-v3vg (OSV record GHSA-2j95-gqxf-v3vg lists affected ranges: Maven com.linecorp.centraldogma:centraldogma-server >=0 <0.84.0 (fixed))
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-2j95-gqxf-v3vg (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-2j95-gqxf-v3vg lists affected ranges: Maven com.linecorp.centraldogma:centraldogma-server >=0 <0.84.0)

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