External risk intelligence

Apache IoTDB Authentication Bypass via Stale Credentials

CVE advisorySeverity: CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8)

CVE-2026-28564

The vulnerability affects a REST API interface within Apache IoTDB. REST APIs are commonly deployed as network-accessible services to facilitate data exchange, making them a likely candidate for public or broad network exposure in many enterprise environments.

Authentication Bypass

Halo Surface Signal: 4 out of 5 — likely to be public-facing.

External exposure likelihood

Horizon Alert

Summary of the vulnerability and why it matters

A critical vulnerability has been identified in Apache IoTDB related to insufficient session expiration, allowing for authentication bypass through capture-replay attacks. This weakness means that stale, cached credentials could be accepted by the REST Basic Authentication mechanism, potentially exposing sensitive data and system access.

Session issue bypasses authentication.
Considered for potential exposure.
Confirm relevance and assess impact.

Attack Path

How an attacker could exploit the issue

An attacker could exploit this by sending requests that reuse old credentials to a network-accessible REST API endpoint, bypassing authentication and gaining unauthorized access to the system. This could lead to the compromise of sensitive data and system control.

No authentication needed to attack.
Stale credentials trigger vulnerability.
High risk to data and system.

Live Threat

Current exploitation, exposure, and threat context

This vulnerability in Apache IoTDB could allow an unauthenticated attacker to bypass authentication by replaying stolen or stale credentials. This could potentially grant unauthorized access to the system's data and services.

System data and service integrity are at risk.
Exposure could happen via network access to the REST API.
Unauthorized access and potential data manipulation may occur.

Operational Fix

Recommended remediation, mitigation, and detection steps

This critical vulnerability in Apache IoTDB, specifically affecting its REST Basic Authentication, allows for authentication bypass through stale cached credentials. Given its network-accessible nature, the initial focus should be on identifying all deployments of Apache IoTDB, assessing their exposure and business criticality, and determining the accountable team—likely the Platform or Infrastructure team—before planning remediation.

Platform/Infrastructure teams own this issue.
Verify external accessibility and business criticality.
Plan coordinated upgrades or mitigations.

Supplementary metadata

CVSS vector

Validate whether this threat affects your internet-facing exposure.

Halo Threat Intelligence helps prioritize remediation with Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context. Start exposure validation with a free external attack surface trial.

Free EASM Trial See How Signal Works

Frequently asked questions

What is Apache IoTDB?

Apache IoTDB is a specialized database system designed to handle high-frequency time-series data, commonly used in industrial and Internet of Things environments. It allows organizations to collect, store, and analyze massive amounts of sensor or device data efficiently. In this context, the software includes a REST API interface that facilitates communication and data exchange between the database and other external services or applications.

What does CVE-2026-28564 mean for system security?

This CVE identifies a failure in how the system handles session expiration and authentication. It specifically involves Improper Authentication (CWE-294) and Insufficient Session Expiration (CWE-613). Essentially, the software's REST Basic Authentication mechanism incorrectly trusts credentials that should have already expired. Because the system continues to accept these stale, cached credentials, an unauthorized person could gain access as if they were a legitimate, authenticated user.

How does an attacker trigger this vulnerability?

An attacker triggers this by capturing previously used credentials and replaying them against the REST API. The system does not correctly invalidate these sessions, allowing the reused credentials to successfully authenticate. Note that this flaw is specific to the authentication process for stale sessions; requests that do not involve replaying past credentials do not trigger this specific bypass path.

How do I know if my Apache IoTDB instance is relevant?

According to Halo Surface Signal, this vulnerability is considered a likely risk because the affected REST API is often deployed as a network-accessible service. You should care if your IoTDB instance is reachable over your network or exposed to the public internet, as these configurations provide the necessary path for an attacker to reach the vulnerable authentication endpoint and replay credentials.

What should I do to address CVE-2026-28564?

Start by identifying all Apache IoTDB deployments within your infrastructure to assess which ones are network-accessible. Coordinate with your platform or infrastructure teams to review the business criticality of these systems. The definitive resolution provided by the vendor is to upgrade Apache IoTDB to version 2.0.10 or higher, which corrects the handling of cached credentials in the REST Basic Authentication mechanism.

References

Written by Nicholas Merritt

Nicholas Merritt is VP of Security Solutions at Halo Security. With more than 25 years across application security, vulnerability prioritization, and offensive security, he helps teams translate threat data into practical exposure validation and remediation focus. He authors Halo Threat Intelligence CVE advisories using Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context to prioritize internet-facing risk.