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PolarisApplication · Apache

CVE-2026-42810

CRITICAL · 9.9 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.4.1 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
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
Apache Polaris accepts literal `*` characters in namespace and table names. When it later builds temporary S3 access policies for delegated table access, those same characters appear to be reused unescaped in S3 IAM resource patterns and `s3:prefix` conditions. In S3 IAM policy matching, `*` is treated as a wildcard rather than as ordinary text. That means temporary credentials issued for one crafted table can match the storage path of a different table. In private testing against Polaris 1.4.0 using Polaris' AWS S3 temporary- credential path on both MinIO and real AWS S3, credentials returned for crafted tables such as `f*.t1`, `f*.*`, `*.*`, and `foo.*` could reach other tables' S3 locations. The confirmed behavior includes: - reading another table's metadata control file ([Iceberg metadata JSON]); - listing another table's exact S3 table prefix ([table prefix]); - and, when write delegation was returned for the crafted table, creating and deleting an object under another table's exact S3 table prefix. A control case using ordinary different names did not allow the same cross-table access. A least-privilege AWS S3 variant was also confirmed in which the attacker principal had no Polaris permissions on the victim table and only the minimal permissions required to create and use a crafted wildcard table (namespace-scoped `TABLE_CREATE` and `TABLE_WRITE_DATA` on `*`). In that setup, direct Polaris access to `foo.t1` remained forbidden, but the attacker could still create and load `*.*`, receive delegated S3 credentials, and use those credentials to list, read, create, and delete objects under `foo.t1`. In Iceberg, the metadata JSON file is a control file: it tells readers which data files belong to the table, which snapshots exist, and which table version to read. So unauthorized access to it is already a meaningful confidentiality problem. The confirmed write-capable variant means the issue is not limited to disclosure.

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

Apache Polaris does not escape or reject wildcard characters (*) in table/namespaces names when constructing S3 IAM temporary credentials. The literal '*' is passed through to IAM resource patterns and s3:prefix conditions, where it acts as a wildcard. Attackers with minimal table creation permissions (e.g., TABLE_CREATE and TABLE_WRITE_DATA on '*') can craft table names like 'f*.t1' or '*.*' and obtain delegated S3 credentials that can read, list, create, and delete objects in any other table's S3 prefix.

MitigationUpgrade to a patched version of Apache Polaris that either rejects wildcard characters in table names or properly escapes them when constructing IAM policies. Until patched, restrict TABLE_CREATE permissions and monitor for tables containing '*' characters.

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
PolarisApplication
Affected:< 1.4.1

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
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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 Apache Polaris installation and version
    Check the Polaris version by inspecting the Polaris service/process, or look for version files in the Polaris installation directory. If running via Docker, check the container image tag or run 'polaris --version' if the CLI is available.
    Affected if The installed version is below 1.4.1 (e.g., 1.4.0, 1.3.x, or earlier)
  2. Determine if S3 storage integration is configured
    Review Polaris configuration files (typically polaris.yml or polaris-server.yml) for S3-related settings such as 'storage-type: s3', S3 bucket configurations, or any S3 credential delegation settings.
    Affected if S3 storage is configured and Polaris is using S3 as the underlying storage backend
  3. Verify if table creation allows special characters
    Attempt to create a test table with a literal asterisk in the name (e.g., 'test*table' or '*') through the Polaris API or any Polaris catalog client, or inspect the schema validation logic if access to source code is available.
    Affected if Polaris accepts table names containing unescaped '*' characters without validation or rejection
  4. Inspect generated IAM policies for S3 resource patterns
    When credential delegation is used, examine the generated IAM policies or role AssumeRole trust policies that Polaris creates. Look for S3 resource patterns or s3:prefix conditions that include unescaped '*' characters derived from table names.
    Affected if The generated IAM policies contain wildcard '*' characters in S3 resource ARNs or prefix conditions that originated from table/namespace names

You are affected if running Apache Polaris version below 1.4.1 with S3 storage integration where table names containing literal '*' characters can be created and are passed unescaped into IAM policy resource patterns.

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 1.4.1 or later
Fixed in 1.4.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to a patched version of Apache Polaris that either rejects wildcard characters in table names or properly escapes them when constructing IAM policies. Until patched, restrict TABLE_CREATE permissions and monitor for tables containing '*' characters.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apache Polaris 1.4.1

  1. 1. Obtain Apache Polaris version 1.4.1 or later from the official Apache releases (https://polarspace.apache.org/releases)
  2. 2. Stop the currently running Polaris instance
  3. 3. Create a backup of the current Polaris configuration and any persistent data
  4. 4. Install or upgrade to Polaris 1.4.1
  5. 5. Start the upgraded Polaris instance
  6. 6. Verify the upgrade was successful and confirm that wildcard characters (*) in namespace and table names are now properly escaped or rejected in S3 IAM policy generation

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

Fix this in Polaris Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
40.0 hours of engineering $6,960
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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-2026-42810 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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