CVE-2021-38296 - CVE House
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Status published High CVE-2021-38296

Apache Spark Key Negotiation Vulnerability

Vulnerability Description

Apache Spark supports end-to-end encryption of RPC connections via "spark.authenticate" and "spark.network.crypto.enabled". In versions 3.1.2 and earlier, it uses a bespoke mutual authentication protocol that allows for full encryption key recovery. After an initial interactive attack, this would allow someone to decrypt plaintext traffic offline. Note that this does not affect security mechanisms controlled by "spark.authenticate.enableSaslEncryption", "spark.io.encryption.enabled", "spark.ssl", "spark.ui.strictTransportSecurity". Update to Apache Spark 3.1.3 or later

Impact Analysis

Refer to official advisory for detailed impact metrics.

Remediation

Ensure systems are updated to the latest vendor-supplied patch levels.

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Credits & Attribution

The following person or organization is credited with identifying this vulnerability, as recorded in the NVD database:

  • Steve Weis (Databricks)

References

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Affected Vendor

Apache Software Foundation

View all reports →

Affected Software

Apache Spark
Vulnerable Versions:
up to and including version 3.1.2

Timeline

Official Publish: March 10th, 2022
Last Modified: August 4th, 2024
Added to House: July 21st, 2026

CVSS Vectors

V3: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Weaknesses (CWE)

CWE-294

MITRE ATT&CK TTPs

No associated TTPs found for this vulnerability.