Description
An improper authentication vulnerability in HiveServer2 SAML bearer-token validation in Apache Hive 4.0.0 through 4.2.0 (and later unreleased branches) on deployments using HTTP transport with hive.server2.authentication=SAML allows an unauthenticated network attacker to authenticate as an arbitrary Hive user and obtain an authenticated HiveServer2 session via a forged Authorization: Bearer token sent to the /cliservice HTTP endpoint. Users are recommended to upgrade to 4.2.1 version that includes the fix for this issue.
Access / authorization required: No Hive credentials, SAML IdP login, or knowledge of the server signing secret is required. The attacker only needs network reachability to the HiveServer2 HTTP port (typically /cliservice), directly or through a reverse proxy such as Apache Knox that forwards unauthenticated requests to HS2. The instance must have SAML authentication enabled in HTTP mode. Deployments where Knox handles SSO and HiveServer2 uses LDAP/Kerberos (not native SAML mode) are not affected by this specific issue.
Metrics
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:NWeakness enumeration
Affected software
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Apache Software Foundation | Apache Hive | >= 4.0.0, <= 4.2.0 |
References
- https://github.com/apache/hiveProduct
- https://github.com/apache/hive/commit/6ca06ca1104ff7462363087a867d70d546134774Patch
- https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/HIVE-29653Vendor Advisory
- https://lists.apache.org/thread/6d56mk501fp4f8cb5wvrpj2jwd9knt05Mailing List, Vendor Advisory
Timeline
- Published
- Aug 25, 2026
- Last modified
- Sep 28, 2026
- NVD status
- Analyzed