How severe is CVE-2022-33891?

CVE-2022-33891 has a CVSS score of 8.8/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2022-33891?

CVE-2022-33891 affects the following packages: org.apache.spark:spark-parent_2.12 (Maven), org.apache.spark:spark-parent_2.12 (Maven), pyspark (PyPI), pyspark (PyPI). Ecosystems affected: Maven, PyPI.

How do I fix CVE-2022-33891?

No patched version of org.apache.spark:spark-parent_2.12 has shipped for CVE-2022-33891 yet. Where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range, and apply any maintainer-recommended mitigation.

How do I detect CVE-2022-33891 in my Maven, PyPI dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.spark:spark-parent_2.12, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2022-33891 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Stop passing untrusted input into the interpreter or shell: call the affected binary with an argument array rather than a composed command string, reject anything outside a strict allowlist of expected values, and run the component under an account that cannot reach beyond the work it legitimately does.

Is CVE-2022-33891 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 13 known exploit references for CVE-2022-33891, including 9 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2022-33891?

CVE-2022-33891 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 93.2%, placing it in the 100th 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. A score above 50% indicates significantly elevated exploitation risk — immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Is CVE-2022-33891 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2022-33891 (Apache Spark Command Injection Vulnerability) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2023-03-07. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2023-03-28. The required action was: Apply updates per vendor instructions. Being listed in the KEV catalog is the strongest possible confirmation of active exploitation — treat this as a critical priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2022-33891?

CVE-2022-33891 is classified as OS Command Injection (CWE-78). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

Is there exploit tooling available for CVE-2022-33891?

A Nuclei detection template exists for CVE-2022-33891, meaning automated scanners can fingerprint it. 2 Metasploit modules reference CVE-2022-33891, which lowers the barrier to weaponization. Public exploit tooling significantly increases real-world risk — prioritize patching and ensure detection coverage. Exploit tooling should only ever be used in isolated, authorized testing environments.

When was CVE-2022-33891 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2022-33891 was published on July 18, 2022 and was last updated on October 21, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

☕

☕ Maven🐍 PyPI

CISA KEV · ACTIVELY EXPLOITED

HIGH severity

CVE-2022-33891 — spark-parent_2.12

HIGH

CVE-2022-33891 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) OS Command Injection vulnerability in org.apache.spark:spark-parent_2.12. It is in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2023-03-07) — treat it as actively exploited and patch now. A fix is available for org.apache.spark:spark-parent_2.12 — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Apache Spark shell command injection vulnerability via Spark UI

Also known asBIT-spark-2022-33891GHSA-4x9r-j582-cgr8PYSEC-2022-236

Published

Jul 18, 2022

Updated

Oct 21, 2026

Affected

4 pkgs

Patched

3 / 4

Exploits

13 known

Exploitation data as of Oct 23, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, CISA KEV, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

Actively exploited in the wild

Confirmed by CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2023-03-07. Federal agencies were required to remediate by 2023-03-28.
A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA (KEV catalog and SSVC triage) for CVE-2022-33891.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

93.2%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Very High Risk+0.17%

Lower risk than most CVEs100th percentile — riskier than 100% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2022-33891 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). In the shaded patch-first corner (EPSS 50%+, CVSS 7.0+).

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 394,415 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the ≥ 90% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.

Real-World Exposure

4 pkgs affected

☕org.apache.spark:spark-parent_2.12☕org.apache.spark:spark-parent_2.12🐍pyspark🐍pyspark

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

Description

The Apache Spark UI offers the possibility to enable ACLs via the configuration option spark.acls.enable. With an authentication filter, this checks whether a user has access permissions to view or modify the application. If ACLs are enabled, a code path in HttpSecurityFilter can allow someone to perform impersonation by providing an arbitrary user name. A malicious user might then be able to reach a permission check function that will ultimately build a Unix shell command based on their input, and execute it. This will result in arbitrary shell command execution as the user Spark is currently running as. This affects Apache Spark versions 3.0.3 and earlier, versions 3.1.1 to 3.1.2, and versions 3.2.0 to 3.2.1.

A previous version of this advisory incorrectly stated that version 3.1.3 was not vulnerable. Per GHSA-59hw-j9g6-mfg3, version 3.1.3 is vulnerable and vulnerable version ranges in this advisory have been changed to reflect the correct information.

Affected Packages

4 total 3 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`org.apache.spark:spark-parent_2.12`	all versions	No fix
☕Maven	`org.apache.spark:spark-parent_2.12`	≥ 3.1.1&&< 3.2.2	3.2.2`org.apache.spark:spark-parent_2.12:3.2.2`
🐍PyPI	`pyspark`	all versions	3.1.3`pip install --upgrade 'pyspark==3.1.3'`
🐍PyPI	`pyspark`	≥ 3.2.0&&< 3.2.2	3.2.2`pip install --upgrade 'pyspark==3.2.2'`

Affected Products

1 product · 3 configurations

Application

sparkapache

≥ 3.2.0 && ≤ 3.2.1

range

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.