Opencast publishes global system account credentials
The issue was mostly mitigated before, drastically reducing the risk. See references below for more information.
Impact
Opencast before version 10.6 will try to authenticate against any external services listed in a media package when it is trying to access the files, sending the global system user's credentials, regardless of the target being part of the Opencast cluster or not.
Previous mitigations already prevented clear text authentications for such requests (e.g. HTTP Basic authentication), but with enough malicious intent, even hashed credentials can be broken.
Patches
Opencast 10.6 will now send authentication requests only against servers which are part of the Opencast cluster, preventing external services from getting any form of authentication attempt in the first place.
Workarounds
No workaround available.
References
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open an issue in our issue tracker
- Email us at security@opencast.org
Affected software
Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.
| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | org.opencastproject:opencast-common | < 10.6 | 10.6 |
References
- https://github.com/opencast/opencast/security/advisories/GHSA-hcxx-mp6g-6gr9
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-16153
- https://github.com/opencast/opencast/commit/776d5588f39c61eb04c03bb955416c4f77629d51
- https://docs.opencast.org/r/10.x/admin/#changelog
- https://docs.opencast.org/r/10.x/admin/#changelog/#opencast-106
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-hcxx-mp6g-6gr9
- https://github.com/opencast/opencast
- https://www.apereo.org/projects/opencast/news
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-200, CWE-522- Platform
- Java / Kotlin (Maven)
- Package
org.opencastproject:opencast-common- Disclosed
- 14.12.2021
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 13:19
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-hcxx-mp6g-6gr9 - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: org.opencastproject:opencast-common
All published vulnerabilities of this package (Java / Kotlin (Maven)), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 6
- First → latest
- 12.2021 10.2025
- Without a fix
- 1
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- Critical 1
- High 2
- Medium 3
Disclosures per year
- 2021: 3
- 2022: 1
- 2023: 0
- 2024: 0
- 2025: 2
- 2026: 0
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