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HadoopApplication · Apache

CVE-2023-26031

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-11-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 3.3.4 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Relative library resolution in linux container-executor binary in Apache Hadoop 3.3.1-3.3.4 on Linux allows local user to gain root privileges. If the YARN cluster is accepting work from remote (authenticated) users, this MAY permit remote users to gain root privileges. Hadoop 3.3.0 updated the " YARN Secure Containers https://hadoop.apache.org/docs/stable/hadoop-yarn/hadoop-yarn-site/SecureContainer.html " to add a feature for executing user-submitted applications in isolated linux containers. The native binary HADOOP_HOME/bin/container-executor is used to launch these containers; it must be owned by root and have the suid bit set in order for the YARN processes to run the containers as the specific users submitting the jobs. The patch " YARN-10495 https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/YARN-10495 . make the rpath of container-executor configurable" modified the library loading path for loading .so files from "$ORIGIN/" to ""$ORIGIN/:../lib/native/". This is the a path through which libcrypto.so is located. Thus it is is possible for a user with reduced privileges to install a malicious libcrypto library into a path to which they have write access, invoke the container-executor command, and have their modified library executed as root. If the YARN cluster is accepting work from remote (authenticated) users, and these users' submitted job are executed in the physical host, rather than a container, then the CVE permits remote users to gain root privileges. The fix for the vulnerability is to revert the change, which is done in YARN-11441 https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/YARN-11441 , "Revert YARN-10495". This patch is in hadoop-3.3.5. To determine whether a version of container-executor is vulnerable, use the readelf command. If the RUNPATH or RPATH value contains the relative path "./lib/native/" then it is at risk $ readelf -d container-executor|grep 'RUNPATH\|RPATH' 0x000000000000001d (RUNPATH)           Library runpath: [$ORIGIN/:../lib/native/] If it does not, then it is safe: $ readelf -d container-executor|grep 'RUNPATH\|RPATH' 0x000000000000001d (RUNPATH)           Library runpath: [$ORIGIN/] For an at-risk version of container-executor to enable privilege escalation, the owner must be root and the suid bit must be set $ ls -laF /opt/hadoop/bin/container-executor ---Sr-s---. 1 root hadoop 802968 May 9 20:21 /opt/hadoop/bin/container-executor A safe installation lacks the suid bit; ideally is also not owned by root. $ ls -laF /opt/hadoop/bin/container-executor -rwxr-xr-x. 1 yarn hadoop 802968 May 9 20:21 /opt/hadoop/bin/container-executor This configuration does not support Yarn Secure Containers, but all other hadoop services, including YARN job execution outside secure containers continue to work.

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

The container-executor binary in Apache Hadoop 3.3.1-3.3.4 contains an insecure RPATH/RUNPATH setting ($ORIGIN/:../lib/native/) that allows local users to inject a malicious libcrypto.so library into a writable path. When the suid root binary executes, it loads this library with elevated privileges, enabling local privilege escalation to root.

MitigationVerify vulnerability with 'readelf -d container-executor|grep RUNPATH'; if vulnerable (contains '../lib/native/'), upgrade to Hadoop 3.3.5+ or remove the suid bit and root ownership from container-executor to prevent privilege escalation (disables YARN Secure Containers feature).

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:>= 3.3.1, <= 3.3.4

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
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/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 Hadoop version
    Run 'hadoop version' or check $HADOOP_HOME/etc/hadoop/hadoop-version.properties
    Affected if Version is 3.3.1, 3.3.2, 3.3.3, or 3.3.4 (within 3.3.1-3.3.4 range)
  2. Locate container-executor binary
    Find the binary, typically in $HADOOP_HOME/bin/container-executor or /usr/bin/container-executor
    Affected if Binary exists on the system
  3. Verify container-executor is setuid root
    Run 'ls -la container-executor' and check for 'srwxr-sr-x' permissions with root ownership
    Affected if Binary has setuid bit set (permissions include 's' in owner execute) AND is owned by root
  4. Inspect RPATH/RUNPATH setting
    Run 'readelf -d container-executor | grep -E "(RPATH|RUNPATH)"'
    Affected if Output contains '../lib/native/' or '$ORIGIN/:../lib/native/' indicating vulnerable path setting
  5. Check for writable native library path
    Identify the full path resolved from '../lib/native/' relative to container-executor location, then check write permissions with 'ls -la <resolved-path>'
    Affected if The lib/native directory or any intermediate path in the RPATH chain is writable by non-root users (allows library injection)

A system is affected if it runs Hadoop 3.3.1-3.3.4 with a setuid root container-executor binary that has a vulnerable RPATH containing '../lib/native/' and an attacker-writable path in that library loading chain.

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 a release after 3.3.4
Interim mitigation

Verify vulnerability with 'readelf -d container-executor|grep RUNPATH'; if vulnerable (contains '../lib/native/'), upgrade to Hadoop 3.3.5+ or remove the suid bit and root ownership from container-executor to prevent privilege escalation (disables YARN Secure Containers feature).

Recommended fix High confidence

hadoop-3.3.5 or later

  1. Verify vulnerability status by running: readelf -d container-executor | grep 'RUNPATH\|RPATH' - if output contains './lib/native/' the binary is vulnerable
  2. Check ownership and suid bit status: ls -laF /opt/hadoop/bin/container-executor - if owned by root with suid bit set (-rwsr-sr-x or ---Sr-s---), the privilege escalation path is enabled
  3. Option 1 (Preferred - Durable Fix): Upgrade to Hadoop 3.3.5 or later which contains the fix in YARN-11441 that reverts the RUNPATH change
  4. Option 2 (Mitigation Only): If upgrade is not feasible immediately, remove the suid bit and change ownership from root: chmod u-s /opt/hadoop/bin/container-executor && chown yarn:hadoop /opt/hadoop/bin/container-executor - Note: This breaks YARN Secure Containers feature but other Hadoop services continue to work
  5. After applying fix or mitigation, verify the RUNPATH no longer contains '../lib/native/': readelf -d container-executor | grep 'RUNPATH\|RPATH' should show only '$ORIGIN/'
Caveat YARN Secure Containers feature requires root ownership and suid bit; removing these (mitigation) breaks that feature but all other Hadoop services including non-secure YARN job execution continue to work

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

Fix this in Hadoop Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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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

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Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-26031 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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