CVE-2026-44613 in Zeppelin
Summary
by MITRE • 07/30/2026
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in Apache Zeppelin. The default CORS configuration allowed cross-origin state-changing requests and accepted text/plain request bodies, allowing an attacker who lures an authenticated user to a malicious site to perform actions on the user's behalf through REST and WebSocket endpoints. This issue affects Apache Zeppelin versions 0.6.0 through 0.12.0. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 0.12.1, which fixes this issue.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/30/2026
Cross-site request forgery vulnerabilities represent a critical class of web application security flaws that allow attackers to perform unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users. In the case of Apache Zeppelin, this vulnerability emerged from inadequate cross-origin resource sharing configuration that permitted malicious actors to exploit legitimate user sessions through carefully crafted requests. The flaw specifically affected versions ranging from 0.6.0 through 0.12.0, creating a persistent security gap that could be exploited across multiple iterations of the platform.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stemmed from the default CORS policy configuration which failed to properly validate origin headers when processing state-changing requests. This misconfiguration allowed the system to accept cross-origin requests that modified application state through both REST and WebSocket endpoints. The inclusion of text/plain request body handling further exacerbated the issue by enabling attackers to craft malicious payloads that could be executed without proper authentication verification. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in web applications.
The operational impact of this CSRF flaw was significant as it allowed attackers to perform unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users within the Zeppelin environment. When an authenticated user visited a malicious website, the attacker could leverage the user's existing session to execute commands through the vulnerable endpoints. This capability extended to both REST and WebSocket communications, providing multiple attack vectors for exploitation. The vulnerability particularly affected collaborative data analysis environments where users might be lured into visiting compromised sites while maintaining active sessions with Zeppelin.
The security implications of this vulnerability extend beyond simple unauthorized access to encompass potential data manipulation, configuration changes, and privilege escalation within the Zeppelin platform. Attackers could potentially modify notebooks, execute arbitrary code, or alter user permissions through carefully constructed cross-origin requests that exploited the relaxed CORS policies. This type of vulnerability commonly maps to ATT&CK technique T1566 which involves social engineering attacks that trick users into executing malicious actions, and T1071.004 which covers application layer protocol manipulation.
Organizations using affected Zeppelin versions faced substantial risk exposure as this vulnerability could be exploited through various attack vectors including phishing campaigns, compromised websites, or malicious advertisements. The remediation approach required immediate upgrading to version 0.12.1 or later, which implemented proper CORS validation and state-changing request verification mechanisms. Security teams should have conducted thorough assessments of their Zeppelin deployments to identify potential exploitation attempts and implemented additional monitoring controls around WebSocket and REST endpoint access patterns.
The fix implemented in version 0.12.1 addressed the core configuration issues by enforcing stricter origin validation for cross-origin requests and implementing proper CSRF token verification mechanisms. This update aligned with industry best practices for web application security and demonstrated the importance of maintaining current software versions to protect against known vulnerabilities. Organizations should have established procedures for regular security assessments, including vulnerability scanning and penetration testing of their Zeppelin environments to identify similar configuration flaws that could compromise user sessions and data integrity.
The incident highlighted the critical need for proper CORS policy implementation in web applications, particularly those handling sensitive data or providing collaborative features. The vulnerability served as a reminder that default configurations often prioritize usability over security, creating potential attack surfaces that require careful review and hardening. Security professionals should have implemented additional controls such as request header validation, session management improvements, and monitoring of cross-origin requests to detect potential exploitation attempts and prevent unauthorized access to Zeppelin environments.