Akka.Remote TLS did not properly implement certificate-based authentication
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- Security bypass, Spoofing
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · None
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and GitHub. Impact type from CWE-290 and CWE-295.
Summary
Akka.NET is a .NET port of the Akka project from the Scala / Java community. In all versions of Akka.Remote from v1.2.0 to v1.5.51, TLS could be enabled via our `akka.remote.dot-netty.tcp` transport and this would correctly enforce private key validation on the server-side of inbound connections. Akka.Remote, however, never asked the outbound-connecting client to present ITS certificate - therefore it's possible for untrusted parties to connect to a private key'd Akka.NET cluster and begin communicating with it without any certificate. The issue here is that for certificate-based authentication to work properly, ensuring that all members of the Akka.Remote network are secured with the same private key, Akka.Remote needed to implement mutual TLS. This was not the case before Akka.NET v1.5.52. Those who run Akka.NET inside a private network that they fully control or who were never using TLS in the first place are now affected by the bug. However, those who use TLS to secure their networks must upgrade to Akka.NET V1.5.52 or later. One patch forces "fail fast" semantics if TLS is enabled but the private key is missing or invalid. Previous versions would only check that once connection attempts occurred. The second patch, a critical fix, enforces mutual TLS (mTLS) by default, so both parties must be keyed using the same certificate. As a workaround, avoid exposing the application publicly to avoid the vulnerability having a practical impact on one's application. However, upgrading to version 1.5.52 is still recommended by the maintainers.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- Yes
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| akkadotnet | akka.net | 1.2.0 to before 1.5.52 | 1.5.52 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | Akka.Remote (NuGet) | 1.2.0 to before 1.5.52 | 1.5.52 | Patch available | GHSA-jhpv-4q4f-43g5 |
| — | Akka.Cluster (NuGet) | 1.2.0 to before 1.5.52 | 1.5.52 | Patch available | GHSA-jhpv-4q4f-43g5 |
- akka.net Vendorakkadotnet Affected 1.2.0 to before 1.5.52 Fixed in 1.5.52 Patch available CNA
- Akka.Remote (NuGet) Vendor— Affected 1.2.0 to before 1.5.52 Fixed in 1.5.52 Patch available GHSA-jhpv-4q4f-43g5
- Akka.Cluster (NuGet) Vendor— Affected 1.2.0 to before 1.5.52 Fixed in 1.5.52 Patch available GHSA-jhpv-4q4f-43g5
Remediation
- Fix · CNA akka.net (akkadotnet) Fixed in 1.5.52
- Fix · GHSA-jhpv-4q4f-43g5 Akka.Remote (NuGet) Fixed in 1.5.52 Advisory →
- Fix · GHSA-jhpv-4q4f-43g5 Akka.Cluster (NuGet) Fixed in 1.5.52 Advisory →
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2025-61778
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-jhpv-4q4f-43g5
References
Other 6
- https://github.com/akkadotnet/akka.net/security/advisories/GHSA-jhpv-4q4f-43g5
- https://github.com/akkadotnet/akka.net/pull/7847
- https://github.com/akkadotnet/akka.net/pull/7851
- https://getakka.net/articles/remoting/security.html
- https://github.com/akkadotnet/akka.net/releases/tag/1.5.52
- https://github.com/akkadotnet/akka.net
Sources
- CVE-2025-61778 · CVE Program
- CVE-2025-61778 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-jhpv-4q4f-43g5 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
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