As a catastrophic security flaw, CVE-2026-55976 has severe implications, demanding immediate intervention.
Status: Analyzed
Last updated: 🕚 28 Sep 2026, 23:10 UTC
Originally published on: 🕚 25 Aug 2026, 11:16 UTC
Time between publication and last update: 34 days
CVSS Release: version 3
134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Secondary
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
CVE-2026-55976: Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) in Avro SerDe schema resolution in Apache Hive before 4.2.1 allows an authenticated remote attacker with CREATE TABLE privilege to cause the Hive server to fetch an attacker-controlled URL when resolving the avro.schema.url table property on an Avro table that is subsequently queried. This can expose cloud instance metadata, internal network services, or local server files to the Hive process identity. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 4.2.1, which fixes this issue. Attacker access requirements: * Network access to HiveServer2 / Metastore: required (remote attacker model). * Valid Hive authentication: required. * CREATE TABLE (or equivalent) privilege: required, so the attacker can set avro.schema.url in table properties. * SELECT privilege on the malicious table: not required for the creator, who can typically query their own table; any other user granted SELECT can also trigger the fetch. * Write access to the table LOCATION: not required; the attack uses the schema URL, not the data path. * Admin / superuser privileges: not required; an ordinary authenticated user with DDL rights is sufficient. * External tables enabled: typically required in practice, and enabled by default in most deployments. Detection guidance: * Inspect metastore / Hive table metadata for Avro tables whose avro.schema.url uses unexpected schemes such as http, https, file, or ftp, or points at link-local / cloud metadata addresses (for example 169.254.169.254) or other internal hosts. * Review HiveServer2 and Metastore logs around CREATE/ALTER TABLE and queries against Avro tables for schema-resolution failures or outbound fetches of avro.schema.url. * Correlate CREATE TABLE / ALTER TABLE activity that sets avro.schema.url with subsequent SELECT activity on the same table, especially when the URL target is unusual for schema distribution. * On cloud deployments, check instance / VPC flow logs and metadata service access logs for unexpected requests from Hive host identities shortly after Avro DDL or query activity.
The exploitability of CVE-2026-55976 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).
With low attack complexity and no required privileges, CVE-2026-55976 is an easy target for cybercriminals. Organizations should prioritize immediate mitigation measures to prevent unauthorized access and data breaches.
A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.
Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.
Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.
Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2026-55976, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.
Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2026-55976, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.
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