CVE-2016-6811: Hadoop common Insecure Inherited Permissions Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-mf7c-35mq-75pj
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CVSS 8.8
CWE-277
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2016-6811 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.8) insecure inherited permissions vulnerability (CWE-277: Insecure Inherited Permissions) affecting Hadoop common libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves insecure inherited permissions in apache hadoop. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.7.4.

CVE-2016-6811 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2016-6811
GHSA Identifier GHSA-mf7c-35mq-75pj
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.8
CWE Classification CWE-277: Insecure Inherited Permissions
Affected Product Hadoop common
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.8

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

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
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-2016-6811

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

org.apache.hadoop:hadoop-common fixed: 2.7.4 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.hadoop</groupId>
    <artifactId>hadoop-common</artifactId>
    <version>2.7.4</version>
</dependency>
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.hadoop

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2016-6811, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.hadoop

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Hadoop common in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.7.4), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.hadoop command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-277: Insecure Inherited Permissions, where a product defines a set of insecure permissions that are inherited by objects that are created by the program. In Hadoop common, 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

In Apache Hadoop 2.x before 2.7.4, a user who can escalate to yarn user can possibly run arbitrary commands as root user.

CVE-2016-6811 Affected Hadoop common Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.7.4
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.apache.hadoop:hadoop-common
maven/org.apache.hadoop/hadoop-common
Maven
≥ 2.0.0-alpha
< 2.7.4
2.7.4

References

NVD — CVE-2016-6811 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-6811
lists.apache.org/thread.html/9ba3c12... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/9ba3c12bbdfd5b2cae60909e48f92608e00c8d99196390b8cfeca307@%3Cgeneral.hadoop.apache.org%3E

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2016-6811?
CVE-2016-6811 is a security vulnerability in Hadoop common involving Insecure Inherited Permissions in Apache Hadoop under CWE-277: Insecure Inherited Permissions.
Which Hadoop common versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.7.4 across affected packages: org.apache.hadoop:hadoop-common.
What version fixes CVE-2016-6811?
Upgrading to 2.7.4 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is hadoop-common affected?
Yes, org.apache.hadoop:hadoop-common is affected in releases prior to 2.7.4. Upgrade your dependency to 2.7.4 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2016-6811?
CVE-2016-6811 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2016-6811?
CVE-2016-6811 is classified under CWE-277: Insecure Inherited Permissions (A product defines a set of insecure permissions that are inherited by objects that are created by the program.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2016-6811?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.hadoop'. 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-mf7c-35mq-75pj",
  "modified" : "2022-07-06T19:45:49Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-14T03:24:59Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2016-6811" ],
  "summary" : "Insecure Inherited Permissions in  Apache Hadoop",
  "details" : "In Apache Hadoop 2.x before 2.7.4, a user who can escalate to yarn user can possibly run arbitrary commands as root user.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.hadoop:hadoop-common"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.0.0-alpha"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.7.4"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 2.7.3"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-6811"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/9ba3c12bbdfd5b2cae60909e48f92608e00c8d99196390b8cfeca307@%3Cgeneral.hadoop.apache.org%3E"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-277" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-07-06T19:45:49Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2017-04-11T14:59:00Z"
  }
}