Vitess: Missing authorization on vttablet /debug/vrlog exposes live VReplication SQL data
Vulnerability Details
File: go/vt/vttablet/tabletmanager/vreplication/vrlog.go
Summary
vttablet's /debug/vrlog HTTP endpoint streams live VReplication event data , including the literal SQL DML statements being replicated by MoveTables, Reshard, Materialize, and "vitess"-strategy Online DDL workflows , with no authorization check at all. Every comparable "debugging" HTTP endpoint in vttablet/vtgate (querylogz, queryz, txlogz, livequeryz, schemaz, debugenv, hotrows, tablet_plans, query_stats, query_rules) calls acl.CheckAccessHTTP(r, acl.DEBUGGING) before serving data, so that the cluster operator's configured --security-policy (e.g. deny-all, read-only, or a custom plugin) is actually honored. vrlog.go is the one exception: it has zero references to the acl package.
Root Cause
addHttpEndpoint() registers /debug/vrlog via servenv.HTTPHandleFunc, and vrlogStatsHandler() immediately starts streaming subscribed VrLogStats events to the response writer without first calling acl.CheckAccessHTTP(r, acl.DEBUGGING), unlike every sibling handler in the same family (see e.g. go/vt/vttablet/tabletserver/querylogz.go's querylogzHandler, which calls the check first).
The data streamed is sensitive: go/vt/vttablet/tabletmanager/vreplication/vplayer.go calls NewVrLogStats(...).Send(sql) / .Send(event.Statement) for every row change...
Affected versions
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| vitess.io/vitess Go | >= 0.24.0-rc1, <= 0.24.2 | No fix yet |
| <= 0.23.6 | No fix yet |
Details and references
## Vulnerability Details **File**: `go/vt/vttablet/tabletmanager/vreplication/vrlog.go` ### Summary `vttablet`'s `/debug/vrlog` HTTP endpoint streams live VReplication event data , including the literal SQL DML statements being replicated by MoveTables, Reshard, Materialize, and "vitess"-strategy Online DDL workflows , with no authorization check at all. Every comparable "debugging" HTTP endpoint in vttablet/vtgate (querylogz, queryz, txlogz, livequeryz, schemaz, debugenv, hotrows, tablet_plans, query_stats, query_rules) calls `acl.CheckAccessHTTP(r, acl.DEBUGGING)` before serving data, so that the cluster operator's configured `--security-policy` (e.g. `deny-all`, `read-only`, or a custom plugin) is actually honored. `vrlog.go` is the one exception: it has zero references to the `acl` package. ### Root Cause `addHttpEndpoint()` registers `/debug/vrlog` via `servenv.HTTPHandleFunc`, and `vrlogStatsHandler()` immediately starts streaming subscribed `VrLogStats` events to the response writer without first calling `acl.CheckAccessHTTP(r, acl.DEBUGGING)`, unlike every sibling handler in the same family (see e.g. `go/vt/vttablet/tabletserver/querylogz.go`'s `querylogzHandler`, which calls the check first). The data streamed is sensitive: `go/vt/vttablet/tabletmanager/vreplication/vplayer.go` calls `NewVrLogStats(...).Send(sql)` / `.Send(event.Statement)` for every row change and statement event flowing through a VReplication stream (vplayer.go:339, 700, 771, 785) , i.e. the literal SQL (including bound data values) being copied/replicated by MoveTables, Reshard, Materialize, and Online DDL. ### Attack Scenario 1. A cluster operator configures `--security-policy=deny-all` (or `read-only`, or a custom policy) specifically to lock down debugging/admin HTTP endpoints on vttablet, relying on this being uniformly enforced. 2. An attacker who can reach the vttablet debug HTTP port (common in Kubernetes/Prometheus-scraping deployments where this port is exposed beyond localhost) , but who does NOT have the `DEBUGGING`/admin role the policy requires , sends `GET /debug/vrlog`. 3. Every other debug endpoint correctly returns `403 Forbidden`. `/debug/vrlog` returns `200 OK` and streams live VReplication event data, including raw SQL DML statements containing application data values, for as long as the attacker keeps the connection open (bounded by `timeout`/`limit` query params, repeatable). ### Impact Confidentiality impact: disclosure of live replicated application data (potentially including PII or other sensitive column values) to an unauthorized actor, bypassing an access control the operator explicitly configured. No write/modify capability; this is a read-only information-disclosure / access-control-bypass issue, scoped to the vttablet debug HTTP listener. ### Vulnerable Code ```go // go/vt/vttablet/tabletmanager/vreplication/vrlog.go func addHttpEndpoint() { servenv.HTTPHandleFunc("/debug/vrlog", func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) { ch := vrLogStatsLogger.Subscribe("vrlogstats") defer vrLogStatsLogger.Unsubscribe(ch) vrlogStatsHandler(ch, w, r) }) } func vrlogStatsHandler(ch chan *VrLogStats, w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) { timeout, limit := parseTimeoutLimitParams(r) // no acl.CheckAccessHTTP(r, acl.DEBUGGING) call anywhere in this file ... ``` ### Recommended Fix ```go import "vitess.io/vitess/go/acl" func vrlogStatsHandler(ch chan *VrLogStats, w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) { if err := acl.CheckAccessHTTP(r, acl.DEBUGGING); err != nil { acl.SendError(w, err) return } timeout, limit := parseTimeoutLimitParams(r) ... ``` This mirrors the exact pattern already used by `querylogz.go`, `queryz.go`, `txlogz.go`, `livequeryz.go`, `schemaz.go`, `debugenv.go`, and `tx_serializer.go` (hotrows) in the same codebase. ### Verification Built v24.0.1 from source and wrote a standalone Go test that: (1) activates the real `deny-all` security policy via `acl.RegisterFlags`, (2) registe
- CVSS 3.1
- CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
- Severity from
- GitHub (reviewed advisory)
- Weakness
- CWE-862
- Also known as
- CVE-2026-65959, GO-2026-6356
- github.com/vitessio/vitess/security/advisories/GHSA-mhc4-g3wh-cw7m
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-65959
- github.com/vitessio/vitess/pull/20467
- github.com/vitessio/vitess/commit/4c58cd70edc6b03d61cb65842c342ac08341e64f
- github.com/vitessio/vitess/commit/657662e78bde1c82df680e9cc43a686d619f8094
- github.com/vitessio/vitess/commit/d929225a450027406687d27af8dca45620945ceb
- github.com/vitessio/vitess