How severe is CVE-2021-34538?

CVE-2021-34538 has a CVSS score of 7.5/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2021-34538?

CVE-2021-34538 affects the following packages: org.apache.hive:hive (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix CVE-2021-34538?

Update org.apache.hive:hive to 3.1.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-34538 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2021-34538 in my Maven dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.hive:hive. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.

How do I mitigate CVE-2021-34538 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.

How does O3 Security protect against CVE-2021-34538?

O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2021-34538 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Is CVE-2021-34538 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2021-34538 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2021-34538?

CVE-2021-34538 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 1.4%, placing it in the 69th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

When was CVE-2021-34538 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2021-34538 was published on July 16, 2022 and was last updated on March 14, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CVE-2021-34538: hive (High 7.5)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

1.4%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk69th percentile+0.94%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Blast Radius

1 pkg affected

☕org.apache.hive:hive

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

Apache Hive before 3.1.3 "CREATE" and "DROP" function operations does not check for necessary authorization of involved entities in the query. It was found that an unauthorized user can manipulate an existing UDF without having the privileges to do so. This allowed unauthorized or underprivileged users to drop and recreate UDFs pointing them to new jars that could be potentially malicious.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`org.apache.hive:hive`	all versions	3.1.3

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.hive:hive. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update org.apache.hive:hive to 3.1.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-34538 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2021-34538 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Tailored to CVE-2021-34538. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Apache Hive before 3.1.3 "CREATE" and "DROP" function operations does not check for necessary authorization of involved entities in the query. It was found that an unauthorized user can manipulate an existing UDF without having the privileges to do so. This allowed unauthorized or underprivileged users to drop and recreate UDFs pointing them to new jars that could be potentially malicious.

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2021-34538 in your dependencies?

O3 detects CVE-2021-34538 across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works

CVE-2021-34538