Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-8904

Published
13 August 2025
Modified
17 June 2026
CVSS Score v4 9.0
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
EPSS Score 0.0033 26th percentile
Risk Priority 33 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2025-8904 is a critical-severity Storing Passwords in a Recoverable Format (CWE-257) vulnerability in Amazon EMR (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 9.0 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Group Policy Preferences (T1552.006); ranked at the 26th 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 IA-5 (Authenticator Management) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Amazon EMR Secret Agent creates a keytab file containing Kerberos credentials. This file is stored in the /tmp/ directory. A user with access to this directory and another account can potentially decrypt the keys and escalate to higher privileges. Users…

more

are advised to upgrade to Amazon EMR version 7.5 or higher. For Amazon EMR releases between 6.10 and 7.4, we strongly recommend that you run the bootstrap script and RPM files with the fix provided in the location below.

CWE(s)
CWE-257

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1552.006 Group Policy Preferences Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to find unsecured credentials in Group Policy Preferences (GPP).
attack.mitre.org →
T1552 Unsecured Credentials Credential Access
Adversaries may search compromised systems to find and obtain insecurely stored credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
T1552.001 Credentials In Files Credential Access
Adversaries may search local file systems and remote file shares for files containing insecurely stored credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
T1552.002 Credentials in Registry Credential Access
Adversaries may search the Registry on compromised systems for insecurely stored credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-1836Shared CWE-257
CVE-2024-3073Shared CWE-257
CVE-2024-6694Shared CWE-257
CVE-2025-14295Shared CWE-257
CVE-2025-8095Shared CWE-257
CVE-2025-40774Shared CWE-257
CVE-2024-51552Shared CWE-257
CVE-2024-1480Shared CWE-257
CVE-2023-38738Shared CWE-257
CVE-2025-57796Shared CWE-257

Affected Assets

Amazon
EMR
inferred from references and description; NVD did not file a CPE for this CVE

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)
  • V11.4.2
  • V11.4.4

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

IA-5 Authenticator Management good match

IA-5 requires proper management of authenticators including storage of passwords only in non-recoverable (hashed) form, directly stopping the weakness from existing.

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.DS-01 mostly match
prevents

Protecting data-at-rest with cryptographic hashes directly prevents recoverable password storage.

PR.PS-06 partial match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices include requirements for non-recoverable password storage.

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.5.17 Authentication information full match
degrades

Directly requires secure handling and protection of authentication information, preventing storage in recoverable formats.

A.8.5 Secure authentication full match
degrades

Mandates secure authentication mechanisms that preclude recoverable password storage.

A.8.24 Use of cryptography partial match
degrades

Requires proper use of cryptography, which can mitigate recoverable storage if applied correctly to passwords.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure SDLC includes requirements that reduce the likelihood of introducing recoverable password storage.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding practices can prevent developers from implementing recoverable password storage.

References