VulnerabilityPublished 10 Aug 2026

CVE-2026-65942: Apache Ranger · Improper Validation of Certificate with Host Mismatch

Affects Apache RangerSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High.

Data as of 6 Nov 2026, 23:24 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.5High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.5% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 48% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: None
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 10 Aug 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 7 Nov 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

ghsa-qr4j-jp4m-6jhm

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Apache Software FoundationApache Ranger	Affected <=2.8.0	Fixed in–
Mavenorg.apache.ranger/ranger-client`pkg:maven/org.apache.ranger/ranger-client`Other threats	Affected <=2.8.0	Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

Users should upgrade Apache Ranger to version 2.9.0 or later, where this TLS hostname verification issue is fixed. No other mitigation or temporary workaround is indicated in the available data.

Description

Apache Ranger versions up to 2.8.0 contain a TLS hostname verification vulnerability where the client code improperly validates certificates with host mismatches. This issue is addressed in version 2.9.0. The vulnerability has a high severity rating with a CVSS score of 7.5.

Impact

The vulnerability allows an attacker to bypass TLS hostname verification, which can lead to man-in-the-middle attacks where the attacker intercepts or manipulates communications without detection. The CVSS score of 7.5 reflects a high impact on confidentiality with no required privileges or user interaction.

Summary

CVE-2026-65942 identifies a CWE-297 vulnerability in Apache Ranger client code affecting versions up to and including 2.8.0. The flaw involves improper validation of TLS certificates when the hostname does not match, potentially allowing an attacker to present a certificate for a different host without detection. This undermines the security guarantees of TLS connections. The vendor recommends upgrading to Apache Ranger version 2.9.0, which fixes this issue.

CWE-297Improper Validation of Certificate with Host Mismatch (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighOWASP Top 10 A07:2025: Authentication Failures (opens in a new tab)
The product communicates with a host that provides a certificate, but the product does not properly ensure that the certificate is actually associated with that host.
Architecture and Design
In order to ensure data integrity, the certificate must be valid, and it must pertain to the site that is being accessed.Fully check the hostname of the certificate and provide the user with adequate information about the nature of the problem and how to proceed.
Implementation
If certificate pinning is being used, ensure that all relevant properties of the certificate are fully validated before the certificate is pinned, including the hostname.
Implementation
Be careful of other weaknesses in the code that checks the hostname, since it is still possible to incorrectly check the hostname. For example, attackers could create a certificate with a name that begins with a trusted name followed by a NUL byte, which could cause some string-based comparisons to only examine the…
OWASP Cheat Sheets
OWASP Authentication (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V1.14.1 (opens in a new tab)
V2.8.5 (opens in a new tab)
V2.8.4 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 17 Aug 2026, 15:28 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-297

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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