CVE-2022-25168 — hadoop-common
CRITICALCVE-2022-25168 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) OS Command Injection vulnerability in org.apache.hadoop:hadoop-common. A fix is available for org.apache.hadoop:hadoop-common — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Command injection in org.apache.hadoop.fs.FileUtil.unTarUsingTar
EPSS Exploitation Probability
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.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2022-25168 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,238 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
org.apache.hadoop:hadoop-common☕org.apache.hadoop:hadoop-common☕org.apache.hadoop:hadoop-commonReal-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 Hadoop's FileUtil.unTar(File, File) API does not escape the input file name before being passed to the shell. An attacker can inject arbitrary commands. This is only used in Hadoop 3.3 InMemoryAliasMap.completeBootstrapTransfer, which is only ever run by a local user. It has been used in Hadoop 2.x for yarn localization, which does enable remote code execution. It is used in Apache Spark, from the SQL command ADD ARCHIVE. As the ADD ARCHIVE command adds new binaries to the classpath, being able to execute shell scripts does not confer new permissions to the caller. SPARK-38305. "Check existence of file before untarring/zipping", which is included in 3.3.0, 3.1.4, 3.2.2, prevents shell commands being executed, regardless of which version of the hadoop libraries are in use. Users should upgrade to Apache Hadoop 2.10.2, 3.2.4, 3.3.3 or upper (including HADOOP-18136).
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.apache.hadoop:hadoop-common | ≥ 2.0.0&&< 2.10.2 | 2.10.2org.apache.hadoop:hadoop-common:2.10.2 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.hadoop:hadoop-common | ≥ 3.0.0-alpha&&< 3.2.4 | 3.2.4org.apache.hadoop:hadoop-common:3.2.4 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.hadoop:hadoop-common | ≥ 3.3.0&&< 3.3.3 | 3.3.3org.apache.hadoop:hadoop-common:3.3.3 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.hadoop:hadoop-common, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.apache.hadoop:hadoop-common to 2.10.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-25168 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 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2022-25168 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2022-25168. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2022-25168 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2022-25168 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.