CVE-2018-8021: Superset Deserialization Of Untrusted Data Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-vxp9-wv2f-wqmw
Share
CVSS 9.8
CWE-502
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-8021 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) deserialization of untrusted data vulnerability (CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data) affecting Superset libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves deserialization of untrusted data in superset. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.23.

CVE-2018-8021 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-8021
GHSA Identifier GHSA-vxp9-wv2f-wqmw
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data
Affected Product Superset
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2018-8021

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Superset dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

superset fixed: 0.23 
pip install superset>=0.23
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

pip show superset

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2018-8021, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show superset

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Superset in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.23), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show superset command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data, where the product deserializes untrusted data without sufficiently ensuring that the resulting data will be valid. In Superset, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

Versions of Superset prior to 0.23 used an unsafe load method from the pickle library to deserialize data leading to possible remote code execution. Note Superset 0.23 was released prior to any Superset release under the Apache Software Foundation.

CVE-2018-8021 Affected Superset Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.23
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
superset
pypi/superset
PyPI
< 0.23
0.23

References

NVD — CVE-2018-8021 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-8021
Superset Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/apache/incubator-superset/pull/4243
Superset Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/apache/superset/pull/4243
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/apache/superset/commit/2c72a7ae4fc0a8bac1f037a79efa90e1c5549710
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-vxp9-wv2f-wqmw
Superset Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/apache/superset
Superset Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/superset/PYSEC-2018-74.yaml
www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45933 WEB
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45933

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-8021?
CVE-2018-8021 is a security vulnerability in Superset involving Deserialization of Untrusted Data in superset under CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data.
Which Superset versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.23 across affected packages: superset.
What version fixes CVE-2018-8021?
Upgrading to 0.23 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is superset affected?
Yes, superset is affected in releases prior to 0.23. Upgrade your dependency to 0.23 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-8021?
CVE-2018-8021 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2018-8021?
CVE-2018-8021 is classified under CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data (The product deserializes untrusted data without sufficiently ensuring that the resulting data will be valid.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2018-8021?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show superset'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-vxp9-wv2f-wqmw",
  "modified" : "2024-10-28T14:18:34Z",
  "published" : "2018-11-09T17:40:56Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-8021" ],
  "summary" : "Deserialization of Untrusted Data in superset",
  "details" : "Versions of Superset prior to 0.23 used an unsafe load method from the pickle library to deserialize data leading to possible remote code execution. Note Superset 0.23 was released prior to any Superset release under the Apache Software Foundation.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "superset"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.23"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-8021"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/apache/incubator-superset/pull/4243"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/apache/superset/pull/4243"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/apache/superset/commit/2c72a7ae4fc0a8bac1f037a79efa90e1c5549710"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-vxp9-wv2f-wqmw"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/apache/superset"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/superset/PYSEC-2018-74.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45933"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-502" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-06-16T21:58:58Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}