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HadoopApplication · Apache

CVE-2021-33036

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-06-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.10.2 / 3.2.3 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
In Apache Hadoop 2.2.0 to 2.10.1, 3.0.0-alpha1 to 3.1.4, 3.2.0 to 3.2.2, and 3.3.0 to 3.3.1, a user who can escalate to yarn user can possibly run arbitrary commands as root user. Users should upgrade to Apache Hadoop 2.10.2, 3.2.3, 3.3.2 or higher.

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

A privilege escalation vulnerability in Apache Hadoop YARN allows a user who can escalate to the yarn user account to execute arbitrary commands with root privileges. This indicates insufficient authorization controls or improper privilege handling in the YARN component that allows vertical privilege escalation from the yarn service account to root.

MitigationUpgrade Apache Hadoop to version 2.10.2, 3.2.3, 3.3.2 or higher. Until patches can be applied, strictly limit which users can escalate to the yarn user account and monitor for suspicious activity.

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
Affected:>= 2.2.0, < 2.10.2>= 3.0.1, < 3.2.3>= 3.3.0, < 3.3.2= 3.0.0

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
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/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 checks

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

  1. Check installed Hadoop version
    Run 'hadoop version' or check the installed package version via 'rpm -q hadoop' or 'dpkg -l hadoop' depending on your OS
    Affected if The installed version falls within < 2.10.2, < 3.2.3, or < 3.3.2 (excluding the fixed versions)
  2. Verify YARN component is deployed
    Check if YARN NodeManager or ResourceManager processes are running via 'jps -l' or 'ps aux | grep yarn'
    Affected if YARN services (NodeManager, ResourceManager) are running on the system
  3. Identify if any users can switch to yarn service account
    Review /etc/passwd for yarn user entry and check sudoers or PAM configuration for permissions to 'su - yarn' or 'sudo -u yarn'
    Affected if Non-admin users have the ability to escalate to the yarn user account
  4. Review YARN container executor permissions
    Inspect yarn-site.xml for 'yarn.nodemanager.container-executor.class' setting and check the associated binary permissions
    Affected if Container executor is configured and the yarn user has elevated file permissions that could be exploited for root escalation

You are affected if YARN is running and the installed Hadoop version is vulnerable AND users can escalate to the yarn service account, allowing vertical privilege escalation to root.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2.10.2 / 3.2.3 / 3.3.2 or later
Fixed in 2.10.23.2.33.3.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Apache Hadoop to version 2.10.2, 3.2.3, 3.3.2 or higher. Until patches can be applied, strictly limit which users can escalate to the yarn user account and monitor for suspicious activity.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apache Hadoop 2.10.2, 3.2.3, or 3.3.2 (select based on your current branch)

  1. 1. Identify current Hadoop version by running `hadoop version`
  2. 2. Determine which branch you are on (2.x, 3.0.x, 3.1.x, 3.2.x, or 3.3.x) to select the appropriate fixed release
  3. 3. Back up all Hadoop configuration files in /etc/hadoop/ and any custom configurations
  4. 4. Stop all Hadoop services: `stop-dfs.sh` and `stop-yarn.sh` (or use Ambari/Cloudera Manager if applicable)
  5. 5. Download Apache Hadoop 2.10.2 (for 2.x users), 3.2.3 (for 3.2.x users), or 3.3.2 (for 3.3.x users) from https://hadoop.apache.org/releases.html
  6. 6. Extract the new version: `tar -xzf hadoop-X.X.X.tar.gz -C /opt/` and set $HADOOP_HOME
  7. 7. Restore or update configuration files from your backup, ensuring no old vulnerable configurations are reused
  8. 8. Start Hadoop services: `start-dfs.sh` and `start-yarn.sh`
Caveat Hadoop upgrades between minor versions may introduce configuration or API changes; review release notes for your target version and test in a non-production environment before deploying

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Hadoop Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2021-33036 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data