Apache Cassandra: User with MODIFY permission on ALL KEYSPACES can escalate privileges to…
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 5 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CISA ADP. Fix status from CNA, GitHub and Red Hat.
Summary
Privilege Defined With Unsafe Actions vulnerability in Apache Cassandra. An user with MODIFY permission ON ALL KEYSPACES can escalate privileges to superuser within a targeted Cassandra cluster via unsafe actions to a system resource. Operators granting data MODIFY permission on all keyspaces on affected versions should review data access rules for potential breaches. This issue affects Apache Cassandra 3.0.30, 3.11.17, 4.0.16, 4.1.7, 5.0.2, but this advisory is only for 4.0.16 because the fix to CVE-2025-23015 was incorrectly applied to 4.0.16, so that version is still affected. Users in the 4.0 series are recommended to upgrade to version 4.0.17 which fixes the issue. Users from 3.0, 3.11, 4.1 and 5.0 series should follow recommendation from CVE-2025-23015.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apache | Apache Cassandra | 4.0.16 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
| — | org.apache.cassandra:cassandra-all (Maven) | 4.0.16 to before 4.0.17 | 4.0.17 | Patch available | GHSA-5c4f-pxmx-xcm4 |
- Apache Cassandra VendorApache Affected 4.0.16 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
- org.apache.cassandra:cassandra-all (Maven) Vendor— Affected 4.0.16 to before 4.0.17 Fixed in 4.0.17 Patch available GHSA-5c4f-pxmx-xcm4
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:apache:cassandra:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 3.0.0 to before 3.0.31; 3.11.0 to before 3.11.18; 4.0.0 to before 4.0.17; 4.1.0 to before 4.1.8; 5.0.0 to before 5.0.3 | Vulnerable | Apache |
- cpe:2.3:a:apache:cassandra:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 3.0.0 to before 3.0.31; 3.11.0 to before 3.11.18; 4.0.0 to before 4.0.17; 4.1.0 to before 4.1.8; 5.0.0 to before 5.0.3 Vulnerable ·Apache
Remediation
- Fix · GHSA-5c4f-pxmx-xcm4 org.apache.cassandra:cassandra-all (Maven) Fixed in 4.0.17 Advisory →
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Data Grid 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Fuse 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 7 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform Expansion Pack | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2025-26467
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-5c4f-pxmx-xcm4
References
More Apache Cassandra vulnerabilities
- TI-2016-02888 Unspecified vulnerability in Oracle Java SE 6u113, 7u99, and 8u77; Java SE Embedded 8u77… KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2021-20121 Remote code execution for scripted UDFs CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.1
- TI-2019-02233 Vulnerability in the Java SE, Java SE Embedded component of Oracle Java SE (subcomponent… CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.9
- TI-2018-05793 Missing authentication in Apache Cassandra CVSS 3.0CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2016-04292 handler/ssl/OpenSslEngine.java in Netty 4.0.x before 4.0.37.Final and 4.1.x before… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2025-16827 Apache Cassandra: User with MODIFY permission on ALL KEYSPACES can escalate privileges to superuser via unsafe actions CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
Sources
- CVE-2025-26467 · CVE Program
- CVE-2025-26467 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-5c4f-pxmx-xcm4 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2025-26467 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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