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KnoxApplication · Apache

CVE-2017-5646

MEDIUM · 6.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2017-05-26
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
74/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
For versions of Apache Knox from 0.2.0 to 0.11.0 - an authenticated user may use a specially crafted URL to impersonate another user while accessing WebHDFS through Apache Knox. This may result in escalated privileges and unauthorized data access. While this activity is audit logged and can be easily associated with the authenticated user, this is still a serious security issue. All users are recommended to upgrade to the Apache Knox 0.12.0 release.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Apache Knox versions 0.2.0 through 0.11.0 contain a vulnerability where an authenticated user can craft a malicious URL to impersonate another user when accessing WebHDFS, resulting in privilege escalation and unauthorized data access.

MitigationUpgrade to Apache Knox 0.12.0 or later to remediate this vulnerability.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
KnoxApplication
Affected:= 0.2.0= 0.3.0= 0.4.0= 0.5.0= 0.6.0= 0.7.0= 0.8.0= 0.9.0= 0.10.0= 0.11.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
High
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Apache Knox version
    Run 'knoxversion' command from the Knox bin directory, or check the VERSION file in the Knox home directory
    Affected if Version is 0.2.0, 0.3.0, 0.4.0, 0.5.0, 0.6.0, 0.7.0, 0.8.0, 0.9.0, 0.10.0, or 0.11.0
  2. Verify WebHDFS topology configuration
    Examine the topology XML files in the {KNOX_HOME}/topologies/ directory for any service definitions containing 'WEBHDFS'
    Affected if WebHDFS service is exposed in any topology file and Knox version is in the affected range
  3. Review audit logs for impersonation patterns
    Check audit log files in {KNOX_HOME}/logs/ for entries where the 'impersonator' or 'targetUser' fields differ, or look for unusual WebHDFS access patterns
    Affected if Audit logs show WebHDFS requests where the authenticated user differs from the impersonated target user

A user is affected if they run Apache Knox version 0.2.0 through 0.11.0 with WebHDFS service enabled in any topology.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to Apache Knox 0.12.0 or later to remediate this vulnerability.

Fix this in Knox Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2017-5646 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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