CVE-2018-11770

What it is

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'.

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited over the network with a low-privilege account. Limited direct impact.

Exploit odds

66.1% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS). Higher than most.

Fix

A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

1. 2018-08-13 16:29 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-06-17 01:36 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

• Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
• Exploit odds: 66.1% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
• Severity: 4.2 MEDIUM (CVSS).
• Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.

Details

Published

2018-08-13 16:29 UTC

Last modified

2026-06-17 01:36 UTC

Exploit probability

66.1% · EPSS, next 30 days

Weakness

CWE-287 · Improper authentication

Record status

Modified

Affected

• Apache Spark < 2.4.0

Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 4.2

Attack vector

Network

Complexity

High

Privileges needed

Low

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

Low

Availability

None

Is it in your code?

Hand this to your coding agent. It searches your project for the affected products and checks versions. Nothing leaves your machine.

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