Security Resilience

CVE-2023-32007

RCE in Apache Spark ≤ 3.0.3

Published
02 May 2023
Modified
13 February 2025
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.76 99.5th percentile
Risk Priority 90 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-32007 is a high-severity Command Injection (CWE-77) vulnerability in Apache Spark. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, ranked in the top 0.5% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2023-32007 is a command injection vulnerability in the Apache Spark UI that occurs when ACLs are enabled via the spark.acls.enable configuration option together with an authentication filter. The flaw resides in a code path inside HttpSecurityFilter that permits impersonation through an arbitrary username, which is then passed to a permission-check function that constructs and executes a Unix shell command. The issue affects only unsupported releases of Apache Spark; the original disclosure as CVE-2022-33891 had incorrectly stated that version 3.1.3 was unaffected.

An attacker who can reach the Spark UI with valid credentials can supply a crafted username to bypass ACL checks and obtain arbitrary command execution with the privileges of the user running Spark. The vulnerability carries a CVSS score of 8.8 and is categorized under CWE-77.

Public advisories state that the vulnerability affects only end-of-life products and direct users to upgrade to a currently supported release such as Apache Spark 3.4.0. The referenced Apache security page and OSS-Security mailing-list posts reiterate that no patches will be issued for unsupported branches.

The associated EPSS score stands at 0.9228 with no material post-disclosure climb from a low baseline.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

** UNSUPPORTED WHEN ASSIGNED ** 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…

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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 issue was disclosed earlier as CVE-2022-33891, but incorrectly claimed version 3.1.3 (which has since gone EOL) would not be affected. NOTE: This vulnerability only affects products that are no longer supported by the maintainer. Users are recommended to upgrade to a supported version of Apache Spark, such as version 3.4.0.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-54920Same product: Apache Spark
CVE-2022-33891Same product: Apache Spark
CVE-2023-22946Same product: Apache Spark
CVE-2025-55039Same product: Apache Spark
CVE-2024-45505Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2024-29737Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2023-52291Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2026-61400Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2023-22884Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2025-23196Same vendor: Apache

Affected Assets

apache
spark
≤ 3.0.3 · 3.1.1 — 3.1.3 · 3.2.0 — 3.2.1

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

blocks

A.8.25 mandates secure SDLC practices including secure coding guidelines, security requirements, checkpoints, testing (scans/penetration), and developer training that reduce command injection defects, but leaves a minority slice (e.g. incomplete implementation of those practices, outsourced development without full assurance, or post-SDLC changes) where the weakness can still arise and be exploitable.

blocks

Application security requirements explicitly call for controls against injection flaws including command injection.

blocks

A.8.27 mandates security-by-design principles (e.g. distrust external input, secure session control, data validation/sanitization, least privilege) and design reviews that can stop command injection from being introduced, but this is only a minority slice of CWE-77 because the weakness can still arise in code that bypasses those principles, in non-reviewed components, or in runtime injection vectors the architecture review does not reach.

prevents

Secure coding standards require proper escaping and parameterization of commands, directly eliminating CWE-77.

finds

Security testing in development catches command-injection vulnerabilities before release.

Hardening callouts derived

DISA STIG baselines are authored against specific weaknesses. Where this CVE cites a broad weakness class, the mapping is not asserted at that abstraction (owner ruling, 2026-09-25: grade only at Base and below), so no rule is shown here rather than a rule shown against the wrong grain.

  • No fine-grained STIG row for CWE-77, a class-level weakness, and none of its children carries one either.

References