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 fixed version has been published for CVE-2022-33891 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates, apply mitigations recommended by the vendor, and use O3 Security to track when a fix becomes available in your stack.

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 93.5%, 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. 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 April 10, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CISA KEV·Added 2023-03-07 — agencies required to remediate by 2023-03-28

☕ Maven🐍 PyPI

CVE-2022-33891

HIGH

Apache Spark UI can allow impersonation if ACLs enabled

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

Published

Jul 18, 2022

Updated

Apr 10, 2026

Affected

4 pkgs

Patched

3 / 4

Exploits

13 known

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

93.5%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Very High Risk100th percentile0.00%

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

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.

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
🐍PyPI	`pyspark`	all versions	3.1.3
🐍PyPI	`pyspark`	≥ 3.2.0&&< 3.2.2	3.2.2

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.