What is CVE-2022-33891?

CVE-2022-33891 is a high-severity vulnerability in Apache Spark, classified under OS Command Injection. CVSS score: 8.8/10. Published 2022-07-18.

How severe is CVE-2022-33891?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.8 out of 10.

Is CVE-2022-33891 known to be exploited?

Yes. CVE-2022-33891 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2023-03-07), indicating it is being actively exploited. 60 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.

RCE in Apache Spark

CVE-2022-33891

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 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 affects Apache Spark versions 3.0.3 and earlier, versions 3.1.1 to 3.1.2, and versions 3.2.0 to 3.2.1.

Vulnerability class: Command Injection (OS Command Injection)

Published 2022-07-18 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 8.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.932 (99.8th percentile), scored 2026-10-15.

High probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — patch promptly. 100th percentile — 99.8% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.931 · newest: 0.932 · change: +0.002

Affected products

Apache Spark
Apache Software Foundation Spark — versions 3.0.3 and earlier, 3.1.1 to 3.1.2, 3.2.0 to 3.2.1

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-78 — OS Command Injection

CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities)

This CVE is on the CISA KEV catalog, added on 2023-03-07. CISA KEV inclusion means CISA has confirmed in-the-wild exploitation; US federal agencies are required to remediate within a published due date.

BOD 22-01 due date: 2023-03-28.

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

lists.apache.org/thread/p847l3kopoo5bjtmxrcwk21xp6tjxqlc (Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
packetstormsecurity.com/files/168309/Apache-Spark-Unauthenticated-Command-Injec… (Exploit, VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory)
www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/05/02/1 (mailing-list, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 (Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2022-33891?: CVE-2022-33891 is a high-severity vulnerability in Apache Spark, classified under OS Command Injection. CVSS score: 8.8/10. Published 2022-07-18.
How severe is CVE-2022-33891?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2022-33891 known to be exploited?: Yes. CVE-2022-33891 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2023-03-07), indicating it is being actively exploited. 60 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.