HadoopApplication · Apache
CVE-2018-8029
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 · uneditedIn Apache Hadoop versions 3.0.0-alpha1 to 3.1.0, 2.9.0 to 2.9.1, and 2.2.0 to 2.8.4, a user who can escalate to yarn user can possibly run arbitrary commands as root user.
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 confidenceLocal privilege escalation vulnerability in Apache Hadoop's YARN component where a user who can escalate to the yarn user can execute arbitrary commands as root. The vulnerability stems from improper privilege management allowing unauthorized command execution with root privileges.
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
HadoopApplication
>= 2.2.0, <= 2.8.4>= 3.0.1, <= 3.1.0= 2.9.0= 2.9.1= 3.0.0CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check installed Hadoop versionRun 'hadoop version' or check the package manager (e.g., 'rpm -qa | grep hadoop' or 'dpkg -l | grep hadoop') to determine the installed version number.Affected if The installed version falls within the affected ranges: >= 2.2.0 and <= 2.8.4; >= 3.0.1 and <= 3.1.0; or exactly 2.9.0, 2.9.1, or 3.0.0.
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Verify YARN component is installedCheck if YARN is present by looking for the yarn executable ('which yarn' or 'which yarn resourcemanager') or by inspecting YARN configuration files in /etc/hadoop/ (such as yarn-site.xml).Affected if YARN is installed and running as a component of the affected Hadoop version.
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Confirm yarn system user existsRun 'id yarn' or check /etc/passwd for a yarn user account to verify the yarn user exists on the system.Affected if The yarn user account exists on the system.
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Check for user escalation paths to yarnReview sudo configurations ('sudo -l -U yarn' or check /etc/sudoers and related files) and system permissions to determine if regular users can escalate to the yarn user account.Affected if Non-privileged users can escalate their privileges to the yarn user through sudo, setuid, or other mechanisms.
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Inspect YARN daemon configurations for root executionExamine YARN configuration files (yarn-site.xml and related files in /etc/hadoop/) for properties that enable privileged command execution or root-level process spawning by the yarn daemon.Affected if YARN is configured to execute processes with root privileges or allows privileged command execution.
You are affected if your installed Hadoop version matches the affected ranges, YARN is enabled, and a path exists for users to escalate to the yarn user who can then execute arbitrary commands with root privileges.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUpgrade Apache Hadoop to version 3.1.1, 2.9.2, or 2.8.5 or later. Until patched, strictly control and monitor access to the yarn user account and limit who can perform user escalation.
Fix this in Hadoop
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $11,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-8029 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-8029 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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