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 spa...

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'.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

4.2/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N

EPSS Probability

65.94%

99.2th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-287

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Apache	Spark	>= 1.3.0, < 2.4.0

References

http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/105097Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/bd8e51314041451a2acd720e9223fc1c15a263ccacb396a75b1fc485%40%3Cdev.spark.apache.org%3EMailing List, Third Party Advisory
https://spark.apache.org/security.html#CVE-2018-11770Exploit, Mitigation, Vendor Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/105097Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/bd8e51314041451a2acd720e9223fc1c15a263ccacb396a75b1fc485%40%3Cdev.spark.apache.org%3EMailing List, Third Party Advisory
https://spark.apache.org/security.html#CVE-2018-11770Exploit, Mitigation, Vendor Advisory

Timeline

Published: Aug 13, 2018
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

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 score of 4.2/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 65.94% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2018-11770?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

How Strix Helps

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