Vulnerability Snapshot
CVE-2026-42811 is rated CRITICAL — exploitation is trivial or already observed in the wild and impact is severe. Patch immediately, not on the next maintenance window.
Affected technology: polaris.
Executive Summary
In plain terms, Apache Polaris is supposed to issue short-lived GCS credentials
that
only work for one table's files, but a crafted namespace or table name can
cause those credentials to work across the configured bucket instead.
Apache Polaris builds Google Cloud Storage downscoped credentials by creating a
Credential Access Boundary (CAB) with CEL conditions that are intended to
restrict access to the requested table's storage path.
The relevant CEL string is built from the bucket name and the table path.
That
table path is derived from namespace and table identifiers. In current code,
that path appears to be inserted into the CEL expression without escaping.
As a result, a namespace or table identifier containing a single quote and
other URI-safe CEL fragments can break out of the intended quoted string and
change the meaning of the CEL condition.
In private testing against Polaris 1.4.0 on real Google Cloud Storage, it was confirmed that Polaris accepted a crafted identi
Why It Matters
CVE-2026-42811 is rated CRITICAL severity, requiring immediate attention from security teams.
CVSS Base Score: 9.9/10
Affected Technologies
Vendors: apache
Products: polaris
🛡️What Defenders Should Check
Use Vulnios to continuously monitor your exposure to CVE-2026-42811 and similar vulnerabilities.
References & Sources
How Vulnios Detects This
Vulnios scans for this vulnerability using Trivy and Grype for CVE matching against your container images and OS package manifests and Nuclei templates that probe live HTTP surfaces for the published exploit pattern. Run a scan against your environment to see whether you are exposed; findings are linked back to the original CVE record so triage starts with the patch path already known.
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Affected Products
Sources
Related Threat Alerts
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- Critical Vulnerability: CVE-2016-5019 — apache — myfaces_trinidad
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2026-42811?
CVE-2026-42811 is a critical-severity vulnerability tracked under the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures program. In plain terms, Apache Polaris is supposed to issue short-lived GCS credentials
that
only work for one table's files, but a crafted namespace or table name can
cause those credentials to work across t
Am I affected?
Check whether your environment runs polaris. If you operate any of those, treat yourself as in scope until you have evidence otherwise. A Vulnios scan will identify the exact assets carrying the affected version.
How urgent is the response?
Critical: do not wait for your normal patch cycle. Verify exposure today, apply the vendor patch immediately, and add detection rules for any post-exploit indicators.
How do I remediate?
Apply the vendor patch listed in the upstream advisory linked under Sources. If the patch is not yet available, follow the vendor-supplied workaround (often a config flag or feature disable) and add detections for the published exploit pattern in your SIEM. Re-scan after the patch lands to confirm the finding clears.
Where can I track exploitation activity?
Watch CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog for CVE-2026-42811. Cross-reference with public exploit databases and your own SIEM/IDS for indicator-of-compromise patterns. Vulnios tracks KEV status automatically and surfaces it on the asset findings view.
How does Vulnios help with this?
Vulnios continuously cross-references your asset inventory against the live CVE feed (NVD, vendor advisories, CISA KEV, and curated OSINT). When a new CVE matches your environment, you get a prioritized finding with the severity, KEV status, exploit-prediction (EPSS), and a direct path to the vendor patch. You can start a free scan from the homepage.
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