Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:NSummary
CVE-2025-55039 is a medium-severity Inadequate Encryption Strength (CWE-326) vulnerability in Apache Spark. Its CVSS base score is 6.5 (Medium).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Supply Chain Compromise (T1195); ranked at the 13th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SC-13 (Cryptographic Protection) and SI-7 (Software, Firmware, and Information Integrity) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2025-34531
Vulnerability Data
This issue affects Apache Spark versions before 3.4.4, 3.5.2 and 4.0.0. Apache Spark versions before 4.0.0, 3.5.2 and 3.4.4 use an insecure default network encryption cipher for RPC communication between nodes. When spark.network.crypto.enabled is set to true (it is set…
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to false by default), but spark.network.crypto.cipher is not explicitly configured, Spark defaults to AES in CTR mode (AES/CTR/NoPadding), which provides encryption without authentication. This vulnerability allows a man-in-the-middle attacker to modify encrypted RPC traffic undetected by flipping bits in ciphertext, potentially compromising heartbeat messages or application data and affecting the integrity of Spark workflows. To mitigate this issue, users should either configure spark.network.crypto.cipher to AES/GCM/NoPadding to enable authenticated encryption or enable SSL encryption by setting spark.ssl.enabled to true, which provides stronger transport security.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 28 hardening rules · 8 OS baselines
V11.4.2V14.1.2V14.2.4
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
SC-13 requires selection and implementation of specific cryptographic algorithms and key lengths, directly preventing use of inadequate encryption strength.
Mandating integrity verification tools directly requires proper cryptographic signature checking to detect unauthorized changes.
SC-12 governs cryptographic key establishment and management, which can enforce sufficient key sizes and thereby reduce inadequate encryption strength.
Protecting session authenticity requires correct verification of cryptographic signatures or equivalent mechanisms.
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.
Strong encryption is required to protect confidentiality of data-at-rest.
Strong encryption is required to protect confidentiality of data-in-transit.
Requires assessing authenticity and integrity of acquired assets, which commonly relies on signature verification but is limited to pre-acquisition.
Hardened baselines can enforce minimum cryptographic algorithm and key-length settings.
Secure SDLC practices include code signing and signature verification requirements, addressing the weakness during development.
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.
Requiring the organization to define and enforce minimum cryptographic strength prevents deployment of insufficient key lengths or weak ciphers that can be brute-forced.
Hardening callouts derived
Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).
Oracle Linux 8 (2 rules)
- V-248574 YUM must be configured to prevent the installation of patches, service packs, device drivers, or OL 8 system components that have not been digitally signed using a certificate that is recognized and approved by the organization. prevents CWE-347
- V-248575 OL 8 must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components of local packages without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. prevents CWE-347
Oracle Linux 9 (3 rules)
- V-271525 OL 9 must have GPG signature verification enabled for all software repositories. prevents CWE-347
- V-271523 OL 9 must check the GPG signature of locally installed software packages before installation. prevents CWE-347
- V-271756 OL 9 local disk partitions must implement cryptographic mechanisms to prevent unauthorized disclosure or modification of all information that requires at rest protection. prevents CWE-326
RHEL 7 (2 rules)
- V-204447 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components from a repository without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. prevents CWE-347
- V-204448 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components of local packages without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. prevents CWE-347
RHEL 8 (2 rules)
- V-230264 RHEL 8 must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components from a repository without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. prevents CWE-347
- V-230224 All RHEL 8 local disk partitions must implement cryptographic mechanisms to prevent unauthorized disclosure or modification of all information that requires at rest protection. prevents CWE-326
RHEL 9 (2 rules)
- V-257822 RHEL 9 must have GPG signature verification enabled for all software repositories. prevents CWE-347
- V-257879 RHEL 9 local disk partitions must implement cryptographic mechanisms to prevent unauthorized disclosure or modification of all information that requires at rest protection. prevents CWE-326
Windows Server 2016 (1 rule)
- V-224843 Systems requiring data at rest protections must employ cryptographic mechanisms to prevent unauthorized disclosure and modification of the information at rest. prevents CWE-326