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CVE-2026-42809

9.9 · CRITICAL

Apache Polaris can issue broad temporary ("vended") storage credentials during staged table creation before the effective table location has been validated or durably reserved.

Published May 4, 2026CWE-20EPSS 0.58%

Overview

CVE-2026-42809 is a critical-severity vulnerability. It was published on May 4, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.9 (CRITICAL).

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.9, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.

Technical description

Apache Polaris can issue broad temporary ("vended") storage credentials during

staged

table creation before the effective table location has been validated or

durably reserved.

Those temporary credentials are meant to limit the scope

of

accessible table data and metadata, but this scope limitation becomes

attacker-

directed because the attacker can choose a reachable target location.

In the confirmed variant, if the caller supplies a custom `location` during

stage create and requests credential vending, Apache Polaris uses that location to

construct delegated storage credentials immediately. The stage-create path

itself neither runs the normal location validation nor the overlap checks

before those credentials are issued.

Closely related to that, the staged-create flow also accepts

`write.data.path` / `write.metadata.path` in the request properties and

feeds

those location overrides into the same effective table location set used for

credential vending. Those fields are secondar

Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-42809?

CVE-2026-42809 is a critical-severity vulnerability. It was published on May 4, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.9 (CRITICAL).

How severe is CVE-2026-42809?

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.9, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.

How do I fix or remediate CVE-2026-42809?

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2026-42809?

CyberStrike is an open-source, AI-augmented pentesting engine. Rather than flag a version number, it tests whether an issue like CVE-2026-42809 is actually reachable in your own applications and APIs, then verifies each finding before reporting it. That tells you if the weakness is a real, exploitable risk in your environment or a false positive you can safely deprioritize.

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