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ClickHouse vulnerable to client certificate password exposure in client exception

Moderate severity GitHub Reviewed Published May 12, 2023 in ClickHouse/clickhouse-java • Updated Jan 22, 2026

Package

maven com.clickhouse:clickhouse-client (Maven)

Affected versions

< 0.4.6

Patched versions

0.4.6
maven com.clickhouse:clickhouse-jdbc (Maven)
< 0.4.6
0.4.6
maven com.clickhouse:clickhouse-r2dbc (Maven)
< 0.4.6
0.4.6

Description

Summary

As initially reported in issue #1331, when client certificate authentication is enabled with password protection, the password (referred to as the client option sslkey) may be exposed in client exceptions (e.g., ClickHouseException or SQLException). This vulnerability can potentially lead to unauthorized access, data breaches, and violations of user privacy.

Details

During the handling of ClickHouseException, the client certificate password may be inadvertently exposed when sslkey is specified. This issue can arise when an exception is thrown during the execution of a query or a database operation. The client certificate password is then included in the exception message, which could be logged or exposed to unauthorized parties.

Impact

This vulnerability enables an attacker with access to client exception error messages or logs to obtain client certificate passwords, potentially allowing unauthorized access to sensitive information, data manipulation, and denial of service attacks. The extent of the risk depends on the specific implementation and usage of the affected systems. However, any exposure of client certificate passwords should be treated as a high-priority security concern.

References

@santrancisco santrancisco published to ClickHouse/clickhouse-java May 12, 2023
Published to the GitHub Advisory Database May 12, 2023
Reviewed May 12, 2023
Last updated Jan 22, 2026

Severity

Moderate

CVSS overall score

This score calculates overall vulnerability severity from 0 to 10 and is based on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).
/ 10

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector: More severe the more the remote (logically and physically) an attacker can be in order to exploit the vulnerability.
Attack complexity: More severe for the least complex attacks.
Privileges required: More severe if no privileges are required.
User interaction: More severe when no user interaction is required.
Scope: More severe when a scope change occurs, e.g. one vulnerable component impacts resources in components beyond its security scope.
Confidentiality: More severe when loss of data confidentiality is highest, measuring the level of data access available to an unauthorized user.
Integrity: More severe when loss of data integrity is the highest, measuring the consequence of data modification possible by an unauthorized user.
Availability: More severe when the loss of impacted component availability is highest.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L

EPSS score

Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)

This score estimates the probability of this vulnerability being exploited within the next 30 days. Data provided by FIRST.
(76th percentile)

Weaknesses

Generation of Error Message Containing Sensitive Information

The product generates an error message that includes sensitive information about its environment, users, or associated data. Learn more on MITRE.

CVE ID

CVE-2024-23689

GHSA ID

GHSA-g8ph-74m6-8m7r
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