CVE-2026-27314
Privilege Escalation in Apache Cassandra 5.0 mTLS Authentication
Publication date: 2026-04-07
Last updated on: 2026-04-15
Assigner: Apache Software Foundation
Description
Description
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
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Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| apache | cassandra | From 5.0.0 (inc) to 5.0.7 (exc) |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-267 | A particular privilege, role, capability, or right can be used to perform unsafe actions that were not intended, even when it is assigned to the correct entity. |
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?
This vulnerability is a privilege escalation issue in Apache Cassandra 5.0 when used in an mTLS environment with MutualTlsAuthenticator. It allows a user who only has CREATE permission to associate their own certificate identity with any arbitrary role, including a superuser role, by using the ADD IDENTITY function. This means the user can effectively authenticate as a higher-privileged role than they should be allowed.
How can this vulnerability impact me? :
The impact of this vulnerability is that an attacker or unauthorized user with limited permissions can escalate their privileges to gain superuser access. This can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data, modification or deletion of data, and potentially full control over the Cassandra database environment.
What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?
Users are recommended to upgrade Apache Cassandra to version 5.0.7 or later, which fixes this privilege escalation issue.
How does this vulnerability affect compliance with common standards and regulations (like GDPR, HIPAA)?:
The provided information does not specify how this privilege escalation vulnerability in Apache Cassandra affects compliance with common standards and regulations such as GDPR or HIPAA.