dbcve.org
AmbariApplication · Apache

CVE-2025-23196

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-01-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.7.9 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
A code injection vulnerability exists in the Ambari Alert Definition feature, allowing authenticated users to inject and execute arbitrary shell commands. The vulnerability arises when defining alert scripts, where the script filename field is executed using `sh -c`. An attacker with authenticated access can exploit this vulnerability to inject malicious commands, leading to remote code execution on the server. The issue has been fixed in the latest versions of Ambari.

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 code injection vulnerability in Apache Ambari's Alert Definition feature allows authenticated users to execute arbitrary shell commands through the script filename field, which gets executed via `sh -c`. This enables remote code execution on the Ambari server.

MitigationUpgrade Ambari to the latest version that includes the fix for CVE-2025-23196. If immediate upgrade is not possible, restrict access to the Alert Definition feature to only trusted administrative users.

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:< 2.7.9

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. Identify Ambari installation and version
    Run `ambari-server --version` or check the RPM/DEB package version with `rpm -q ambari-server` or `dpkg -l ambari-server`
    Affected if Installed version is lower than 2.7.9 (e.g., 2.7.8, 2.7.7, etc.)
  2. Verify Alert Definition REST API accessibility
    Query the Ambari API endpoint `/api/v1/alert_definitions` using curl with valid authentication credentials: `curl -u <user>:<pass> -k https://<ambari-host>:8080/api/v1/alert_definitions`
    Affected if The API returns alert definitions and the user has access to create or modify them
  3. Inspect alert definitions for suspicious script filenames
    Review the output from the alert_definitions API and examine the `source->scriptName` or `source->script` fields for unusual patterns such as: shell metacharacters (;, |, &&, ||), commands appended after the script name, or unexpected file extensions
    Affected if Any alert definition contains a scriptName field with shell command injection payloads or unexpected commands
  4. Check Ambari audit logs for alert definition modifications
    Review Ambari audit logs (typically in /var/log/ambari-audit/ or via the Ambari UI audit tab) for recent CREATE or UPDATE operations on alert_definitions, looking for entries with unusual script filenames
    Affected if There are recent alert definition modifications with suspicious script filenames or commands
  5. Examine Ambari server process execution history
    Review system process logs or audit logs on the Ambari server host for execution patterns matching `sh -c` commands spawned by the ambari user, particularly those involving alert scripts: `grep 'sh.*-c.*alert' /var/log/ambari-server/ambari-server.log`
    Affected if There are log entries showing execution of alert scripts containing injected commands beyond simple script file paths

You are affected if Ambari version is below 2.7.9 AND your authenticated users have access to create or modify alert definitions with custom script filenames.

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 2.7.9 or later
Fixed in 2.7.9
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Ambari to the latest version that includes the fix for CVE-2025-23196. If immediate upgrade is not possible, restrict access to the Alert Definition feature to only trusted administrative users.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Ambari 2.7.9 or later

  1. 1. Backup the existing Ambari configuration and database before upgrading.
  2. 2. Download Apache Ambari 2.7.9 or later from the official Apache Ambari repository.
  3. 3. Stop all Ambari services and the Ambari Server using 'ambari-server stop'.
  4. 4. Upgrade the Ambari Server by running the ambari-server upgrade command with the new Ambari distribution.
  5. 5. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the Ambari Server version.
  6. 6. Start the Ambari Server and confirm all services start normally.
  7. 7. Validate that the Alert Definition feature no longer allows command injection by testing with a benign script name.
Caveat Review Ambari 2.7.9 release notes for any breaking changes or migration requirements 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 / QA3.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,120
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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-2025-23196 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