CVE-2020-9480: Spark parent 2.11 Improper Authentication Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-wgx7-jwwm-cgjv
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-287 CWE-306
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-9480 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) improper authentication vulnerability (CWE-287: Improper Authentication) affecting Spark parent 2.11 libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves improper authentication in apache spark. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.4.6.

CVE-2020-9480 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-9480
GHSA Identifier GHSA-wgx7-jwwm-cgjv
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-287: Improper Authentication
Affected Product Spark parent 2.11
Package Ecosystem Maven
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:3.1/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-2020-9480

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Spark parent 2.11 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.spark:spark-parent_2.11 fixed: 2.4.6 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.spark</groupId>
    <artifactId>spark-parent_2.11</artifactId>
    <version>2.4.6</version>
</dependency>
pyspark fixed: 2.4.6 
pip install pyspark>=2.4.6
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.spark

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2020-9480, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

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

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Spark parent 2.11 in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.4.6), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.spark 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-287: Improper Authentication, where when an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct. In Spark parent 2.11, 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 Spark 2.4.5 and earlier, a standalone resource manager's master may be configured to require authentication (spark.authenticate) via a shared secret. When enabled, however, a specially-crafted RPC to the master can succeed in starting an application's resources on the Spark cluster, even without the shared key. This can be leveraged to execute shell commands on the host machine. This does not affect Spark clusters using other resource managers (YARN, Mesos, etc).

CVE-2020-9480 Affected Spark parent 2.11 Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.4.6
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.apache.spark:spark-parent_2.11
maven/org.apache.spark/spark-parent_2.11
Maven
< 2.4.6
2.4.6
pyspark
pypi/pyspark
PyPI
< 2.4.6
2.4.6

References

NVD — CVE-2020-9480 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-9480
Spark parent 2.11 Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/pyspark/PYSEC-2020-95.yaml
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r03ad9f... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r03ad9fe7c07d6039fba9f2152d345274473cb0af3d8a4794a6645f4b@%3Cuser.spark.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/ra0e62a... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/ra0e62a18ad080c4ce6df5e0202a27eaada75222761efc3f7238b5a3b@%3Ccommits.doris.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/rb39564... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rb3956440747e41940d552d377d50b144b60085e7ff727adb0e575d8d@%3Ccommits.submarine.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/ree9e87... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/ree9e87aae81852330290a478692e36ea6db47a52a694545c7d66e3e2@%3Cdev.spark.apache.org%3E
Spark parent 2.11 Security Information SECURITY
https://spark.apache.org/security.html#CVE-2020-9480
Spark parent 2.11 Security Information SECURITY
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuApr2021.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-9480?
CVE-2020-9480 is a security vulnerability in Spark parent 2.11 involving Improper Authentication in Apache Spark under CWE-287: Improper Authentication.
Which Spark parent 2.11 versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.4.6 across affected packages: org.apache.spark:spark-parent_2.11, pyspark.
What version fixes CVE-2020-9480?
Upgrading to 2.4.6 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is spark-parent_2.11 affected?
Yes, org.apache.spark:spark-parent_2.11 is affected in releases prior to 2.4.6. Upgrade your dependency to 2.4.6 or later.
Is pyspark affected?
Yes, pyspark is affected in releases prior to 2.4.6. Upgrade your dependency to 2.4.6 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-9480?
CVE-2020-9480 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-9480?
CVE-2020-9480 is classified under CWE-287: Improper Authentication (When an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2020-9480?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.spark'. 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-wgx7-jwwm-cgjv",
  "modified" : "2024-10-15T16:15:45Z",
  "published" : "2022-02-10T23:05:20Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-9480" ],
  "summary" : "Improper Authentication in Apache Spark",
  "details" : "In Apache Spark 2.4.5 and earlier, a standalone resource manager's master may be configured to require authentication (spark.authenticate) via a shared secret. When enabled, however, a specially-crafted RPC to the master can succeed in starting an application's resources on the Spark cluster, even without the shared key. This can be leveraged to execute shell commands on the host machine. This does not affect Spark clusters using other resource managers (YARN, Mesos, etc).",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/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" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.spark:spark-parent_2.11"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.4.6"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 2.4.5"
    }
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "pyspark"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.4.6"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-9480"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/pyspark/PYSEC-2020-95.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r03ad9fe7c07d6039fba9f2152d345274473cb0af3d8a4794a6645f4b@%3Cuser.spark.apache.org%3E"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/ra0e62a18ad080c4ce6df5e0202a27eaada75222761efc3f7238b5a3b@%3Ccommits.doris.apache.org%3E"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/rb3956440747e41940d552d377d50b144b60085e7ff727adb0e575d8d@%3Ccommits.submarine.apache.org%3E"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/ree9e87aae81852330290a478692e36ea6db47a52a694545c7d66e3e2@%3Cdev.spark.apache.org%3E"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://spark.apache.org/security.html#CVE-2020-9480"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuApr2021.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-287", "CWE-306" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-05-11T21:39:30Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2020-06-23T22:15:00Z"
  }
}