Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2018-20090 is an authorization flaw in Cloudera Data Science Workbench 1.4.0 through 1.4.2. A logged-in user could bypass project permission checks and obtain read-write access to any project folder, creating risk of data exposure, tampering, or disruption inside shared analytics environments.
Executive priority
Treat as high priority if CDSW is used for sensitive analytics or regulated data. The issue can cross project boundaries after login, so normal project-level segregation may not protect data integrity or confidentiality.
Technical view
The issue is a project permission bypass in CDSW versions 1.4.0 through 1.4.2. The CVE states authenticated users can gain read-write access to any project folder. The supplied sources do not provide CVSS, CWE, exploit mechanics, or a named fixed version.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to organizations running Cloudera Data Science Workbench 1.4.0, 1.4.1, or 1.4.2, especially where many users share projects or handle sensitive datasets.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not cite active exploitation, KEV listing, public exploit availability, or exploitation in the wild. The vulnerability requires authenticated access, so risk centers on malicious insiders, over-provisioned users, or compromised CDSW accounts.
Researcher notes
Evidence is sparse. The supplied CVE data identifies the product and affected version range in the description, but the affected product fields are n/a and no CVSS, CWE, patch version, or exploit details are included.
Mitigation direction
- Check Cloudera TSB-351 for vendor-approved remediation guidance.
- Inventory CDSW deployments and identify versions 1.4.0 through 1.4.2.
- Prioritize upgrade or mitigation only as documented by Cloudera.
- Limit CDSW access to necessary trusted users until remediated.
- Review project ownership and remove unnecessary authenticated access.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether any CDSW deployment runs version 1.4.0, 1.4.1, or 1.4.2.
- Verify remediation status against Cloudera TSB-351.
- Review project folders for unexpected changes or cross-project access.
- Check account access lists for unnecessary authenticated users.
- Document affected systems and closure evidence for audit tracking.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CVE-2018-20090 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://docs.cloudera.com/documentation/other/security-bulletins/topics/Security-Bulletin.html#TSB-351CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.