MediumCVE-2026-64640

    Apache Polaris: Incorrect Authorization (CVE-2026-64640)

    Published Last modified Sources: CVE.org, OSV

    What is affected, what to do

    Apache Polaris did not consistently validate storage locations supplied during table and view registration. An authenticated principal with permission to register a table or view could, depending on the affected release and registration path, cause Polaris to use the catalog's storage credentials to read a caller-selected Iceberg metadata file before verifying that the file was within the catalog's allowed storage locations.

    An exploit is publicly available. The available sources name no fixed version. Check the vendor guidance in the references below.

    Affected
    • Apache Polaris lte *..1.6.0

    Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability

    Metrics

    6.5

    Priority

    XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.

    Source: Vendor (CNA), CVSS v3

    6.5

    CVSS v3

    Severity Medium on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: CVE.org, OSV

    0.5 %

    EPSS score

    Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.

    Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 41.7

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    Medium
    Priority (0–325)

    The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?

    Read in glossary
    68.99 Methodology
    Exploit maturity

    An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.

    Read in glossary
    PoC (publicly reported)
    XIEM Effective CVSS

    XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.

    Read in glossary
    6.5 Methodology
    CVSS v3

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

    Read in glossary
    6.5
    CVSS v4

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

    Read in glossary
    5.3
    EPSS score

    The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.

    Read in glossary
    0.5 %
    Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
    EPSS percentile

    The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.

    Read in glossary
    41.7
    High — this CVE ranks above the median of all CVEs scored today (rank ≥ 36%).
    KEV status

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    —
    Published
    CWE

    CWE is a catalogue of typical weakness types in software and hardware — such as flawed input validation, unsafe memory handling or poor authentication. Where a CVE names a concrete vulnerability in a concrete product, a CWE describes the underlying class of defect.

    Read in glossary
    CWE-863

    Detection rules

    No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

    Classification under NIS2 and CRA

    Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

    NIS2

    NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.

    Read in glossary
    Handle the vulnerability in regular vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2.
    CRA

    The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.

    Read in glossary
    From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
    ISO/IEC 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.

    Read in glossary
    Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

    Description

    Apache Polaris did not consistently validate storage locations supplied during table and view registration. An authenticated principal with permission to register a table or view could, depending on the affected release and registration path, cause Polaris to use the catalog's storage credentials to read a caller-selected Iceberg metadata file before verifying that the file was within the catalog's allowed storage locations. If the catalog's underlying credentials could read an object outside that boundary, this could disclose limited information from the object. Polaris could also accept registration metadata located within an allowed location that contained references to storage locations outside the allowed boundary. This second condition did not itself cause Polaris to read the referenced external locations during registration. The demonstrated impact is limited to confidentiality. No unauthorized data modification or availability impact has been demonstrated. The server-side read requires a deployment using S3 credential vending and an object outside the allowed locations that the catalog's underlying storage credentials can read. Exploitation requires an authenticated principal with table- or view-registration privileges.

    Source: NVD (NIST), cvelistv5, OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

    Affected products

    The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.

    Affected products
    Affected versionsFixed in
    Apache Software FoundationApache Polaris
    • ≤ 1.6.0
    • —
    apachepolaris
    • ≤ 1.6.0
    • —
    pypiapache-polaris
    • 1.4.0
    • 1.5.0
    • 1.6.0
    • —
    • —
    • —

    Vendors and products

    Weakness classes (CWE)

    • CWE-863Incorrect Authorization

      Class

      The product performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action, but it does not correctly perform the check.

      Entry at MITRE CWE-863

    Public exploit references

    Publicly reported proof-of-concepts, exploit modules and detection templates for this vulnerability. NEOSEC links to the original sources only and does not provide any exploit code.

    Public exploit references
    PoC-in-GitHub (nomi-sec)CVE-2026-64640 (opens in a new tab)github.comPoC (publicly reported)reported, not verified

    References & sources

    • lists.apache.orgthread/scd8p9wy8b9j3om5wohbotpfycnmmjl4Vendor advisory, Mailing list, Vendor advisory
    • openwall.comlists/oss-security/2026/08/06/7web

    Changes to this CVE

    Who changed this CVE and when: NVD (analysis, affected products, CVSS), the CVE publisher (CNA) and additional providers such as CISA (ADP).

    1. Record modifiedCVE Program

      Show the original change
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Referenceadded
      —
      http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/08/06/7

      Source identifier: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108

    2. Initial analysis by NVDNVD

      Newly listed as affected:
      Show 2 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Product configurationadded
      —
      OR *cpe:2.3:a:apache:polaris:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions up to (including) 1.6.0
      Reference typeadded
      —
      Apache Software Foundation: https://lists.apache.org/thread/scd8p9wy8b9j3om5wohbotpfycnmmjl4 Types: Mailing List, Vendor Advisory

      Source identifier: nvd@nist.gov

    3. Record modifiedCISA ADP

      CVSS V3.1: AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

      CISA assessment (SSVC): exploitation: none known, automatable: no

      Show 2 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      CVSSadded
      —
      AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
      SSVC assessmentadded
      —
      {"id":"CVE-2026-64640","role":"CISA Coordinator","options":[{"exploitation":"none"},{"automatable":"no"},{"technicalImpact":"partial"}],"version":"2.0.3","timestamp":"2026-08-06T15:12:23.821798Z"}

      Source identifier: 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

    2 NVD translations into other languages are hidden.

    Embed badge

    Show the severity and KEV status of this vulnerability on your site – with a link back here. The image is updated hourly.

    Badge preview for CVE-2026-64640
    <a href="https://intel.neosec.eu/en/cve/CVE-2026-64640"><img src="https://intel.neosec.eu/badge/cve/CVE-2026-64640.svg?lang=en" alt="CVE-2026-64640 – NEOSEC Intel" height="20"></a>