CVE-2022-33891 | Apache Spark shell command injection vulnerability via Spark UI

Exp

The Apache Spark UI offers the possibility to enable ACLs via the configuration option spark.acls.enable. With an authentication filter, this checks whether a user has access permissions to view or modify the application. If ACLs are enabled, a code path in HttpSecurityFilter can allow someone to perform impersonation by providing an arbitrary user name. A malicious user might then be able to reach a permission check function that will ultimately build a Unix shell command based on their input, and execute it. This will result in arbitrary shell command execution as the user Spark is currently running as. This affects Apache Spark versions 3.0.3 and earlier, versions 3.1.1 to 3.1.2, and versions 3.2.0 to 3.2.1.

Published: 2022-07-18 Last update: 2025-10-23 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2022-33891 is rated Critical Active Threat (95/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 93.51%, 100th percentile). CISA KEV confirms active exploitation (added 2023-03-07) affecting Apache / Spark. a weakness (CWE-78) Unauthenticated remote administrative access may be possible. The CISA remediation deadline has passed—treat as an emergency patch priority.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

CISA KEV Record for CVE-2022-33891

Name: Apache Spark Command Injection Vulnerability · CISA KEV detail

Exploit added: 2023-03-07

Action due: 2023-03-28

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2022-33891

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2022-33891

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-01-04 93.62% 93.51% -0.10%
2 2025-12-28 93.50% 93.62% +0.12%
3 2025-12-27 — 93.50% —

Full EPSS history (58 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2022-33891

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 2.8 5.9 [email protected]
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 2.8 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2022-33891

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2022-33891

GHSA-4x9r-j582-cgr8 · Severity: high · Ecosystem: maven — Apache Spark UI can allow impersonation if ACLs enabled

OS Trackers for CVE-2022-33891

vendor priority summary link
redhat medium — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2022-33891
suse high CVE-2022-33891 severity important: SUSE including 29 source package names (openstack-barbican-7.0.1~dev24-3.17.1, openstack-barbican-api-7.0.1~dev24-3.17.1, …), 55 product×package rows across 5 product lines (SUSE Manager Server Module 4.1, SUSE Manager Server Module 4.2, … (5 product lines)): Fixed 52, Known Not Affected 3. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2022-33891/

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-33891

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
apache spark <= 3.0.3 cpe:2.3:a:apache:spark:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache spark >= 3.1.1, <= 3.1.2 cpe:2.3:a:apache:spark:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apache spark >= 3.2.0, <= 3.2.1 cpe:2.3:a:apache:spark:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2022-33891

cvelogic Threat Intelligence