Apache Storm Worker Launcher: Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition
CVE-2026-82430 is a high-severity time-of-check time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition vulnerability in Apache Storm Worker Launcher from Apache, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists version 3.1.0 as the first without the flaw, so updating Apache Storm Worker Launcher to that release or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.14% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update Apache Storm Worker Launcher to 3.1.0 or a later version.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apache | Apache Storm Worker Launcher | 3.0.0 up to, but not including, 3.1.0 | 3.1.0 |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- LowA basic user account is enough.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CISA (ADP).
Official description
Description When launching a Docker or OCI worker, the setuid-root `worker-launcher` first changes ownership of the entire worker directory to the untrusted topology user, and only afterwards reads and acts on the command file that the supervisor wrote into that same directory. The file is opened without `O_NOFOLLOW` and without re-verifying its owner, so between the ownership change and the read the tenant can replace its contents. For the Docker path the parsed command is executed with real uid 0, and the command sanitiser is not a privilege boundary: it admits `-v` with an arbitrary source, `--device`, `--cap-add`, `--security-opt`, `--user` and `--net`, and copies positional arguments through verbatim. A rewritten file therefore yields an attacker-authored, root-equivalent container invocation with the host filesystem available. For the OCI path the same rewrite window applies, and mount validation is structural only, with no source or destination allow-list, so arbitrary host paths can be bind-mounted read-write into the container. The `username` field of the command file is likewise attacker-settable and is checked only against non-root and minimum-uid rules, permitting execution as another tenant's uid. Mitigation Upgrade to 3.1.0, where the command file is validated before the ownership change and re-verified on open, and where mount sources and destinations are constrained by configuration. Users who cannot upgrade immediately should disable Docker and OCI worker isolation, or restrict topology submission on affected supervisors to trusted principals. Note that the launcher must be rebuilt and reinstalled after upgrading. Credit The ASF -- found using Claude agents to study the security of open-source projects, validated and reported by Apache Storm.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition
The product checks the state of a resource before using that resource, but the resource's state can change between the check and the use in a way that invalidates the results of the check.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- The most basic advice for TOCTOU vulnerabilities is to not perform a check before the use. This does not resolve the underlying issue of the execution of a function on a resource whose state and identity cannot be assured, but it does help to limit the false sense of security given by the check.
- When the file being altered is owned by the current user and group, set the effective gid and uid to that of the current user and group when executing this statement.
- Limit the interleaving of operations on files from multiple processes.
More Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition vulnerabilities (CWE-367)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
References
Other references
Other vulnerabilities in Apache Storm Worker Launcher
- 7.8 High severity
Recent Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition vulnerabilities
- 9.9 Critical severity
- 7.0 High severity
- 7.7 High severity
- 8.1 High severity
- 8.1 High severity
- 8.8 High severity
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