Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-50379

RCE in Apache Ambari ≤ 2.7.8

RCE
Published
27 February 2024
Modified
05 May 2025
Patch / advisory
View 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 0.011 62th percentile
Risk Priority 66 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-50379 is a high-severity Code Injection (CWE-94) vulnerability in Apache Ambari. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059); ranked in the top 38% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Malicious code injection in Apache Ambari in prior to 2.7.8. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 2.7.8, which fixes this issue. Impact: A Cluster Operator can manipulate the request by adding a malicious code injection and gain a root…

more

over the cluster main host.

CWE(s)
CWE-94

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.002 AppleScript Execution
Adversaries may abuse AppleScript for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.004 Unix Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse Unix shell commands and scripts for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.005 Visual Basic Execution
Adversaries may abuse Visual Basic (VB) for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.006 Python Execution
Adversaries may abuse Python commands and scripts for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-51941Same product: Apache Ambari
CVE-2026-40563Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2023-33246Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2025-59059Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2023-37582Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2024-36268Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2023-51387Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2024-29178Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2022-40127Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2025-54550Same vendor: Apache

Affected Assets

apache
ambari
≤ 2.7.8

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.3.1

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation good match

Developer testing and evaluation finds code paths that accept and execute externally influenced strings.

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match

Input validation directly stops untrusted data from being used to construct executable code without neutralization.

AC-6 Least Privilege partial match

Least privilege limits the damage an injected code fragment can perform once executed.

SA-15 Development Process, Standards, and Tools partial match

Requiring documented secure development standards and tools enforces use of safe code-generation APIs and escaping.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

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

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

PR.PS-06's SDLC practices directly target injection flaws via secure coding and testing (mostly), yet as a single broad outcome it leaves many code-generation specifics unaddressed (partial).

PR.DS-10 none match
prevents

PR.DS-10 protects runtime data confidentiality/integrity but has no bearing on neutralizing externally influenced input during code generation, so neither direction shows any preventive effect.

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.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Banning unapproved code samples and unauthenticated web services, combined with secure-coding standards and SAST, prevents the dynamic generation or inclusion of attacker-supplied code.

A.8.7 Protection against malware none match
none

Controls that restrict unauthorized or malicious code from being introduced via external networks or removable media limit opportunities for an attacker to inject and execute arbitrary code.

References