GHSA-8wmf-6v46-5gfg: Infoleak
Summary
OpenTelemetry Go versions 1.5.0 through 1.44.0 can include trace exporter endpoint configuration in an internal diagnostic log emitted when an SDK TracerProvider is created. The default OpenTelemetry logger does not emit this event. Exposure requires an application to install a logger that enables OpenTelemetry's internal Info-level diagnostics and for someone other than the intended audience to have access to those logs.
The logged configuration can disclose the address of the trace collector and whether the OTLP/HTTP connection is configured as insecure. The Zipkin exporter logs its complete collector URL, so credentials in URL userinfo or tokens in the query string are also disclosed if an application embeds them there. OTLP authentication headers, TLS key material, and exported span data are not included in this log.
Exporter MarshalLog implementations that caused this configuration to be included in internal logs were introduced by a1fff3c.
Details
When sdk/trace.NewTracerProvider constructs a provider, it records a TracerProvider created internal Info event containing the provider configuration. In affected versions, the configuration's MarshalLog methods recursively include:
1. the provider's span processors; 2. each processor's span exporter; and 3. for the OTLP trace exporter, its client configuration.
This causes the following values to be present in the event:
- OTLP trace gRPC: the configured endpoint; - OTLP trace HTTP: the configured endpoint and the Insecure flag; and - Zipkin: the complete collector URL.
OpenTelemetry Go does not emit this event with its default logger, which only emits errors. An application must explicitly configure a sufficiently verbose logger with otel.SetLogger. The required logr verbosity is version-dependent:
- versions 1.5.0 through 1.14.x use V(1) for this Info event; and - versions 1.15.0 through 1.44.0 use V(4).
OTLP header configuration is not part of the marshaled object, so credentials supplied with WithHeaders or the corresponding environment variables are not exposed. The documented OTLP WithEndpoint input is a collector address rather than a credential-bearing URL. The higher-risk case is therefore the Zipkin collector URL, which is retained and logged in full, or an application passing sensitive data in an OTLP endpoint outside the documented format.
Proof of concept
The following program demonstrates the behavior with OpenTelemetry Go 1.44.0. It deliberately places credentials and a token in the Zipkin collector URL and enables internal Info logging:
go package main
import ( "bytes" "context" "fmt"
"github.com/go-logr/logr/funcr" "go.opentelemetry.io/otel" "go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/zipkin" sdktrace "go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk/trace" )
func main() { var logs bytes.Buffer otel.SetLogger(funcr.New(func(, args string) { , = logs.WriteString(args) }, funcr.Options{Verbosity: 4}))
exporter, err := zipkin.New( "http://user:pass@zipkin.internal:9411/api/v2/spans?token=secret", ) if err != nil { panic(err) }
tp := sdktrace.NewTracerProvider(sdktrace.WithBatcher(exporter)) = tp.Shutdown(context.Background())
fmt.Println(logs.String()) }
The TracerProvider created event contains:
text http://user:pass@zipkin.internal:9411/api/v2/spans?token=secret
For versions before 1.15.0, set funcr.Options{Verbosity: 1} instead.
Impact
This is a conditional disclosure through application logs. Affected applications must enable verbose OpenTelemetry internal diagnostics and configure a trace exporter containing information they do not intend to expose to readers of those logs. In that configuration, a person or system with log access can learn the trace collector address and internal network topology. If credentials or tokens are embedded directly in a Zipkin collector URL, those values can also be recovered from the logs.
There is no exposure with the default OpenTelemetry logger, and the vulnerable log is generated from local application configuration rather than remotely supplied span data. OTLP authentication headers, certificate or private-key contents, and telemetry payloads are not logged by this path.
Remediation
Upgrade the affected OpenTelemetry Go modules to version 1.45.0 or later. The fix in 3a1412d stops recursively marshaling exporter and client configuration and records their types instead.
If an immediate upgrade is not possible:
- keep OpenTelemetry internal logging below the Info verbosity described above; - do not embed credentials or tokens in exporter endpoint URLs; use authentication headers or another supported credential mechanism; and - restrict access to existing logs and rotate any credentials that may already have been recorded.
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
Upgrade
go/go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/zipkinto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 1.45.0 - Upgrade
Upgrade
go/go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/otlp/otlptrace/otlptracehttpto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 1.45.0 - Upgrade
Upgrade
go/go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/otlp/otlptrace/otlptracegrpcto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 1.45.0 - Upgrade
Upgrade
go/go.opentelemetry.io/otel/exporters/otlp/otlptraceto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 1.45.0 - Upgrade
Upgrade
go/go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdkto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 1.45.0 - Upgrade
Upgrade
go.opentelemetry.io/otelto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 1.45.0 - Upgrade
Upgrade
go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk/traceto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 1.45.0 - Configuration
To avoid exposing exporter/client configuration via OpenTelemetry internal Info-level logs, do not enable verbose internal diagnostics. If an immediate upgrade is not possible, do not configure internal logging at Info-level verbosity. Specifically: for versions before 1.15.0, avoid setting funcr.Options{Verbosity: 1}; and for versions 1.15.0 through 1.44.0, avoid setting funcr.Options{Verbosity: 4} in otel.SetLogger(funcr.New(...)).
OpenTelemetry Go internal logger (otel.SetLogger / funcr.New) otel.SetLogger(funcr.New(..., funcr.Options{Verbosity: 1|4})) = Set verbosity to 1 for versions before 1.15.0 and set verbosity to 4 for versions 1.15.0 through 1.44.0 - Configuration
Do not embed credentials or tokens in OTLP exporter endpoint URLs (including any configured endpoint and the OTLP trace HTTP Insecure flag). Use authentication headers or another supported credential mechanism instead.
OTLP trace exporter endpoint configuration endpoint URL (WithEndpoint) and Insecure flag = Use the documented collector address format and avoid credential-bearing URLs; do not embed credentials or tokens in endpoint URLs - Configuration
Do not embed credentials or tokens in the Zipkin exporter collector URL. The Zipkin exporter logs the complete collector URL, so avoid including credentials in the URL userinfo portion and avoid tokens in the query string.
Zipkin exporter endpoint configuration collector URL (zipkin.New endpoint) = Do not embed credentials or tokens in the Zipkin collector URL (userinfo and query-string token) - Compensating control
Restrict access to existing logs and rotate any credentials that may already have been recorded.
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
Are applications using the default OpenTelemetry logger exposed?
No. The default OpenTelemetry logger does not emit the internal event. Exposure requires an application-installed logger that enables OpenTelemetry internal Info-level diagnostics and log access by someone outside the intended audience.
What sensitive information might appear in the logs?
The log can reveal the trace collector address and whether an OTLP/HTTP connection is configured as insecure. For the Zipkin exporter, the complete collector URL is logged, including credentials in URL userinfo or tokens placed in the query string.
What information is not disclosed by this event?
OTLP authentication headers, TLS key material, and exported span data are not included in this log event.
How can I determine whether an application has already exposed this configuration?
Review accessible application logs for the internal Info-level event emitted when an SDK TracerProvider is created, including the message "TracerProvider created." Focus on deployments that use a custom OpenTelemetry logger with internal Info diagnostics enabled and Zipkin collector URLs containing userinfo credentials or query-string tokens.