CVE-2020-17533 Apache Accumulo Improper Handling of Insufficient Permissions

What is CVE-2020-17533?

CVE-2020-17533 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Apache Accumulo, published on 29 Dec 2020. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

Apache Accumulo versions 1.5.0 through 1.10.0 and version 2.0.0 do not properly check the return value of some policy enforcement functions before permitting an authenticated user to perform certain administrative operations. Specifically, the return values of the 'canFlush' and 'canPerformSystemActions' security functions are not checked in some instances, therefore allowing an authenticated user with insufficient permissions to perform the following actions: flushing a table, shutting down Accumulo or an individual tablet server, and setting or removing system-wide Accumulo configuration properties.

Weakness: CWE-252

Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-17533?

4 open source packages ship an affected version, including org.apache.accumulo:accumulo-master. It affects 1 product.

Products include Apache Accumulo.

How do I fix CVE-2020-17533?

Upgrade org.apache.accumulo:accumulo-master to a fixed version for your release line: 1.10.1 or 2.0.1.

Upgrade, and check permissions on every request on the server, not only in the interface. More about Missing authorization.

Is CVE-2020-17533 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-17533 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code: 1 proofs of concept on GitHub.

Other vulnerabilities in Apache Accumulo

• CVE-2023-34340 Apache Accumulo: Accumulo 2.1.0 may incorrectly validate cached credentials Critical 9.8
• CVE-2026-62764 Apache Accumulo: A user can trigger a graceful shutdown of services without the relevant system permissions Medium 5.7

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as GHSA-grc3-8q8m-4j7c.