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CVE-2025-54920 Detail

Description

This issue affects Apache Spark: before 3.5.7 and 4.0.1. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 3.5.7 or 4.0.1 and above, which fixes the issue. Summary Apache Spark 3.5.4 and earlier versions contain a code execution vulnerability in the Spark History Web UI due to overly permissive Jackson deserialization of event log data. This allows an attacker with access to the Spark event logs directory to inject malicious JSON payloads that trigger deserialization of arbitrary classes, enabling command execution on the host running the Spark History Server. Details The vulnerability arises because the Spark History Server uses Jackson polymorphic deserialization with @JsonTypeInfo.Id.CLASS on SparkListenerEvent objects, allowing an attacker to specify arbitrary class names in the event JSON. This behavior permits instantiating unintended classes, such as org.apache.hive.jdbc.HiveConnection, which can perform network calls or other malicious actions during deserialization. The attacker can exploit this by injecting crafted JSON content into the Spark event log files, which the History Server then deserializes on startup or when loading event logs. For example, the attacker can force the History Server to open a JDBC connection to a remote attacker-controlled server, demonstrating remote command injection capability. Proof of Concept: 1. Run Spark with event logging enabled, writing to a writable directory (spark-logs). 2. Inject the following JSON at the beginning of an event log file: { "Event": "org.apache.hive.jdbc.HiveConnection", "uri": "jdbc:hive2://<IP>:<PORT>/", "info": { "hive.metastore.uris": "thrift://<IP>:<PORT>" } } 3. Start the Spark History Server with logs pointing to the modified directory. 4. The Spark History Server initiates a JDBC connection to the attacker’s server, confirming the injection. Impact An attacker with write access to Spark event logs can execute arbitrary code on the server running the History Server, potentially compromising the entire system.


Metrics

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CVSS 4.0 Severity and Vector Strings:

NIST CVSS score
NIST: NVD
N/A
NVD assessment not yet provided.

References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

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URL Source(s) Tag(s)
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/03/13/4 CVE
https://github.com/apache/spark/pull/51312 Apache Software Foundation
https://github.com/apache/spark/pull/51323 Apache Software Foundation
https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/SPARK-52381 Apache Software Foundation
https://lists.apache.org/thread/4y9n0nfj7m68o2hpmoxgc0y7dm1lo02s Apache Software Foundation

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-ID CWE Name Source
CWE-502 Deserialization of Untrusted Data Apache Software Foundation  

Change History

2 change records found show changes

Quick Info

CVE Dictionary Entry:
CVE-2025-54920
NVD Published Date:
03/16/2026
NVD Last Modified:
03/16/2026
Source:
Apache Software Foundation