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AmbariApplication · Apache

CVE-2023-50378

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-03-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.7.8 or later.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
Lack of proper input validation and constraint enforcement in Apache Ambari prior to 2.7.8    Impact : As it will be stored XSS, Could be exploited to perform unauthorized actions, varying from data access to session hijacking and delivering malicious payloads. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 2.7.8 which fixes this issue.

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 · moderate confidence

This is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Apache Ambari caused by insufficient input validation and constraint enforcement. Attackers can inject malicious scripts into input fields that are stored in the system and executed when other users access the affected content, potentially enabling session hijacking and unauthorized actions.

MitigationUpgrade Apache Ambari to version 2.7.8 or later, which contains proper input validation fixes. Test the upgrade in a non-production environment first to ensure compatibility with existing configurations.

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
AmbariApplication
Affected:>= 2.7.0, < 2.7.8

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
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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. Determine Apache Ambari server version
    Run 'ambari-server version' on the Ambari server host, or query the Ambari API at /api/v1/version, or check the version displayed in the Ambari web UI footer
    Affected if The installed version is 2.7.0 through 2.7.7 (any version >= 2.7.0 but < 2.7.8)
  2. Verify Ambari web interface is accessible
    Confirm the Ambari web UI is reachable at the configured host and port (default 8080). Stored XSS requires the web interface to be active for the malicious script to execute when other users view the affected content
    Affected if The Ambari web UI is exposed and users other than the attacker can access it
  3. Identify user input points in Ambari
    Review Ambari UI fields where users enter data, such as cluster naming, service configuration descriptions, host naming, and group names. These are typical locations where stored XSS could be injected
    Affected if User-provided data can be stored and later rendered without sanitization in the Ambari interface
  4. Check for suspicious script patterns in stored data
    Query Ambari views, alerts, or configuration payloads for script tags or javascript: patterns in database tables or configuration files. Review audit logs for unusual script injection attempts
    Affected if Stored data contains unescaped HTML/script tags that could execute in a user's browser

You are affected if Apache Ambari version is 2.7.0 through 2.7.7 AND the Ambari web interface is accessible to users who could view injected content.

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 2.7.8 or later
Fixed in 2.7.8
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Apache Ambari to version 2.7.8 or later, which contains proper input validation fixes. Test the upgrade in a non-production environment first to ensure compatibility with existing configurations.

Recommended fix High confidence

2.7.8

  1. 1. Back up your existing Ambari configuration, database, and any custom configurations
  2. 2. Stop all Ambari services and the Ambari Server using 'ambari-server stop' and 'ambari-agent stop'
  3. 3. Download Apache Ambari version 2.7.8 from the official Apache repository
  4. 4. Upgrade the Ambari Server by running the upgrade command (e.g., 'ambari-server upgrade' or using the Ambari RHEL/CentOS package manager)
  5. 5. Upgrade all Ambari agents on managed hosts
  6. 6. Start the Ambari Server and agents using 'ambari-server start' and 'ambari-agent start'
  7. 7. Verify the upgrade by logging into the Ambari UI and confirming version 2.7.8 is displayed
  8. 8. Test that stored XSS payloads are no longer executable in the affected input fields
Caveat Review Ambari 2.7.8 release notes for any breaking changes between your current version and 2.7.8 before upgrading

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

Fix this in Ambari Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $2,940
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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-2023-50378 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