CVE-2021-40331 Permissions problem in the Apache Ranger Hive Plugin

What is CVE-2021-40331?

CVE-2021-40331 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Apache Ranger Hive Plugin, published on 5 May 2023. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

An Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource vulnerability was found in the Apache Ranger Hive Plugin. Any user with SELECT privilege on a database can alter the ownership of the table in Hive when Apache Ranger Hive Plugin is enabled This issue affects Apache Ranger Hive Plugin: from 2.0.0 through 2.3.0. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 2.4.0 or later.

Weakness: CWE-732

Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-40331?

2 open source packages ship an affected version, including org.apache.ranger:ranger-hive-plugin. It affects 1 product.

Products include Apache Ranger.

How do I fix CVE-2021-40331?

Upgrade org.apache.ranger:ranger-hive-plugin to 2.4.0 or later.

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

Is CVE-2021-40331 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-40331 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Apache Ranger Hive Plugin

• CVE-2026-28672 Apache Ranger: OS Command Injection via Username in UnixUserGroupBuilder Critical 9.8
• CVE-2026-32227 Apache Ranger: SQL Injection vulnerability in lookup functionality Critical 9.8
• CVE-2026-40920 Apache Ranger: Privilege Escalation via URL Parameter Critical 9.8
• CVE-2026-42537 Apache Ranger: Remote Code Execution via JDBC URL Injection Critical 9.8
• CVE-2026-44416 Apache Ranger: Remote Code Execution via Arbitrary Class Instantiation Critical 9.8

Sources

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

Also known as GHSA-vjr2-wpfh-5r9p.