CVE-2018-11770

CVE-2018-11770 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Apache Spark with a CVSS 3.x base score of 4.2. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score of 66% places it in the 99th percentile, indicating an elevated likelihood of exploitation. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-287.

Key facts

Description

From version 1.3.0 onward, Apache Spark's standalone master exposes a REST API for job submission, in addition to the submission mechanism used by spark-submit. In standalone, the config property 'spark.authenticate.secret' establishes a shared secret for authenticating requests to submit jobs via spark-submit. However, the REST API does not use this or any other authentication mechanism, and this is not adequately documented. In this case, a user would be able to run a driver program without authenticating, but not launch executors, using the REST API. This REST API is also used by Mesos, when set up to run in cluster mode (i.e., when also running MesosClusterDispatcher), for job submission. Future versions of Spark will improve documentation on these points, and prohibit setting 'spark.authenticate.secret' when running the REST APIs, to make this clear. Future versions will also disable the REST API by default in the standalone master by changing the default value of 'spark.master.rest.enabled' to 'false'.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2018-11770?
From version 1.3.0 onward, Apache Spark's standalone master exposes a REST API for job submission, in addition to the submission mechanism used by spark-submit. In standalone, the config property 'spark.authenticate.secret' establishes a shared secret for authenticating requests to submit jobs via spark-submit. However, the REST API does not use this or any other authentication mechanism, and this is not adequately documented. In this case, a user would be able to run a driver program without authenticating, but not launch executors, using the REST API. This REST API is also used by Mesos, when set up to run in cluster mode (i.e., when also running MesosClusterDispatcher), for job submission. Future versions of Spark will improve documentation on these points, and prohibit setting 'spark.authenticate.secret' when running the REST APIs, to make this clear. Future versions will also disable the REST API by default in the standalone master by changing the default value of 'spark.master.rest.enabled' to 'false'.
How severe is CVE-2018-11770?
CVE-2018-11770 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 4.2, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over network with high attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is low, integrity low, and availability none.
Is CVE-2018-11770 being actively exploited?
It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 66% (99th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2018-11770?
CVE-2018-11770 affects Apache Spark. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2018-11770?
Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2018-11770 published?
CVE-2018-11770 was published on 2018-08-13 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

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