GHSA-5m9f-rphj-c435
RabbitMQ Java client: TrustEverythingTrustManager used by default in useSslProtocol() enables MITM
Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maven | com.rabbitmq:amqp-client | < 5.33.0 | 5.33.0 |
Details
As written in the advisory (Markdown source, shown as plain text).
## Vulnerability Summary
`com.rabbitmq.client.TrustEverythingTrustManager` accepts ANY TLS certificate (including null chains) and is used as the default trust manager when calling `ConnectionFactory.useSslProtocol()` without arguments. Combined with hostname verification being disabled by default, this enables trivial man-in-the-middle attacks.
## Affected Components
- `com.rabbitmq.client.TrustEverythingTrustManager` — accepts any certificate
- `com.rabbitmq.client.ConnectionFactory.useSslProtocol()` — uses TrustEverythingTrustManager
- Hostname verification disabled by default (`enableHostnameVerification()` must be called explicitly)
- `com.rabbitmq.client.ConnectionFactory.getPassword()` — returns plaintext with no redaction
- Default port 5672 (plaintext) with PLAIN SASL — credentials sent unencrypted
## POC (Verified on Java 21, amqp-client 5.25.0)
```java
// TrustEverythingTrustManager accepts ANY certificate including null
TrustEverythingTrustManager tm = new TrustEverythingTrustManager();
tm.checkServerTrusted(null, "RSA"); // No exception — accepts null cert chain
tm.getAcceptedIssuers(); // Returns empty array — trusts all CAs
// ConnectionFactory defaults
ConnectionFactory factory = new ConnectionFactory();
factory.useSslProtocol(); // Uses TrustEverythingTrustManager internally
// enableHostnameVerification() NOT called by default
// Credential exposure
factory.setPassword("secret_password_123");
factory.getPassword(); // Returns "secret_password_123" — no redaction
// Default plaintext port
factory.getPort(); // 5672 (plaintext, not 5671/TLS)
// PLAIN SASL sends cleartext credentials
PlainMechanism pm = new PlainMechanism();
// handleChallenge() sends username+password in cleartext
```
## Attack Scenarios
1. **MITM**: Attacker presents self-signed cert → `TrustEverythingTrustManager` accepts it → all RabbitMQ traffic intercepted
2. **Credential theft**: Default plaintext port (5672) + PLAIN SASL = credentials readable on network
3. **DNS rebinding**: No hostname verification → attacker DNS record → MITM without cert
4. **Logging exposure**: `getPassword()` returns plaintext → credentials in logs/stack traces
## Suggested Fix
1. Deprecate `TrustEverythingTrustManager` — it should never be used in production
2. `useSslProtocol()` should use the JVM default trust store, not TrustEverything
3. Enable hostname verification by default
4. Redact password in `getPassword()` or remove the public getter
5. Warn when using PLAIN SASL without TLS
References
External links from the advisory. They lead to third-party sites.
- https://github.com/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-java-client/security/advisories/GHSA-5m9f-rphj-c435
- https://github.com/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-java-client/pull/1999
- https://github.com/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-java-client/pull/2001
- https://github.com/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-java-client/commit/1e7deb2e6020c9793a81385a53ea378ec63b9339
- https://github.com/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-java-client/commit/a4bf571dd368765baaa9cecfae68ce09f1bdcc01
- https://github.com/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-java-client
- https://github.com/rabbitmq/rabbitmq-java-client/releases/tag/v5.33.0