CVE-2025-24860: Apache Cassandra: CassandraNetworkAuthorizer and CassandraCIDRAuthorizer can be bypassed allowing access to different network regions

Severity: medium (CVSS 5.4 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 1.1% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2025-02-04 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-863

Description

Incorrect Authorization vulnerability in Apache Cassandra allowing users to access a datacenter or IP/CIDR groups they should not be able to when using CassandraNetworkAuthorizer or CassandraCIDRAuthorizer. Users with restricted data center access can update their own permissions via data control language (DCL) statements on affected versions. This issue affects Apache Cassandra: from 4.0.0 through 4.0.15 and from 4.1.0 through 4.1.7 for CassandraNetworkAuthorizer, and from 5.0.0 through 5.0.2 for both CassandraNetworkAuthorizer and CassandraCIDRAuthorizer. Operators using CassandraNetworkAuthorizer or CassandraCIDRAuthorizer on affected versions should review data access rules for potential breaches. Users are recommended to upgrade to versions 4.0.16, 4.1.8, 5.0.3, which fixes the issue.

Affected products

Apache Software Foundation Apache Cassandra: from 4.0.0 before 4.0.16; from 4.1.0 before 4.1.8; from 5.0.0 before 5.0.3 — fixed in 4.0.16, 4.1.8, 5.0.3

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Apache Software Foundation Apache Cassandra 4.0.16, 4.1.8, 5.0.3. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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