High severity · published Sep 14, 2026
CVE-2026-82429
Apache Storm Worker Launcher: Local Privilege Escalation to Root via a Time-of-Check Race in the Worker Launcher
7.8
CVSS
0.1%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
Description
The setuid-root `worker-launcher` binary adjusts ownership and permissions of worker directories by walking
the tree with FTS and calling `lchown` and `chmod` on each entry's full pathname while running with an
effective uid of 0. Both syscalls re-resolve the path at the time of the call, after FTS has classified the
entry, and the trees being walked are owned and writable by the untrusted topology user.
A tenant running code on a supervisor node could therefore replace an intermediate directory component with
a symbolic link between classification and the privileged operation, redirecting the root-owned `lchown` or
`chmod` at an arbitrary file on the host. The operation is repeatable at will, since crashing a worker
forces a relaunch and blob updates re-run the walk, so a failed attempt costs the attacker nothing.
This crosses the boundary that `supervisor.run.worker.as.user` and container isolation are intended to
enforce. It is the same defect class as the Hadoop container-executor issues from which this code derives.
Mitigation
Upgrade to 3.1.0, where the privileged walk operates on file descriptors it has already stat'd rather than
on pathnames re-resolved at call time.
Users who cannot upgrade immediately should not run untrusted topology code on supervisors configured with
`supervisor.run.worker.as.user`, since the launcher is the boundary being crossed. Note that the launcher
must be rebuilt and reinstalled after upgrading; replacing the Java artifacts alone is not sufficient.
Credit
The ASF -- found using Claude agents to study the security of open-source projects, validated and reported by Apache Storm.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.1% · higher than 2% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
AS
Apache Storm Worker Launcher · Apache Software Foundation
3.0.0 before 3.1.0 · source: vendor
Affected product
AS
Apache Storm Worker Launcher
Apache Software Foundation
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-82429
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-82429
lists.apache.org
https://lists.apache.org/thread/9vjqrt28g0mxg304vw6pw46cx72v4rvq
www.openwall.com
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/09/13/9
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