CVE-2025-8904
Privilege escalation issue in Amazon EMR Secret Agent component
Amazon EMR Secret Agent creates a keytab file containing Kerberos credentials. This file is stored in the /tmp/ directory. A user with access to this directory and another account can potentially decrypt the keys and escalate to higher privileges.
Users are advised to upgrade to Amazon EMR version 7.5 or higher. For Amazon EMR releases between 6.10 and 7.4, we strongly recommend that you run the bootstrap script and RPM files with the fix provided in the location below.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
9.0
Privilege escalation issue in Amazon EMR Secret Agent component
Amazon EMR Secret Agent creates a keytab file containing Kerberos credentials. This file is stored in the /tmp/ directory. A user with access to this directory and another account can potentially decrypt the keys and escalate to higher privileges.
Users are advised to upgrade to Amazon EMR version 7.5 or higher. For Amazon EMR releases between 6.10 and 7.4, we strongly recommend that you run the bootstrap script and RPM files with the fix provided in the location below.
- Record
CVE-2025-8904- CVSS 4.0
- 9.0 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H - CVSS 3.1
- 8.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-257
- Updated
- 2026-11-04
EUVDEUVD-2025-24614
9.0
Amazon EMR Secret Agent creates a keytab file containing Kerberos credentials. This file is stored in the /tmp/ directory. A user with access to this directory and another account can potentially decrypt the keys and escalate to higher privileges.
Users are advised to upgrade to Amazon EMR version 7.5 or higher. For Amazon EMR releases between 6.10 and 7.4, we strongly recommend that you run the bootstrap script and RPM files with the fix provided in the location below.
- Record
EUVD-2025-24614- CVSS 4.0
- 9.0 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H - Updated
- 2026-11-04
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-hf8h-76fm-735v
9.0
Amazon EMR Secret Agent creates a keytab file containing Kerberos credentials. This file is...
Amazon EMR Secret Agent creates a keytab file containing Kerberos credentials. This file is stored in the /tmp/ directory. A user with access to this directory and another account can potentially decrypt the keys and escalate to higher privileges.
Users are advised to upgrade to Amazon EMR version 7.5 or higher. For Amazon EMR releases between 6.10 and 7.4, we strongly recommend that you run the bootstrap script and RPM files with the fix provided in the location below.
- Record
GHSA-hf8h-76fm-735v- CVSS 4.0
- 9.0 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X - CVSS 3.1
- 8.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-257
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
9.0
Amazon EMR Secret Agent creates a keytab file containing Kerberos credentials. This file is stored in the /tmp/ directory. A user with access to this directory and another account can potentially decrypt the keys and escalate to higher privileges.
Users are advised to upgrade to Amazon EMR version 7.5 or higher. For Amazon EMR releases between 6.10 and 7.4, we strongly recommend that you run the bootstrap script and RPM files with the fix provided in the location below.
- Record
CVE-2025-8904- CVSS 4.0
- 9.0 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X - CVSS 3.1
- 8.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-257
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| facts | CVE List, EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2025-8904 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.0) in Amazon Emr, published August 13, 2025. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.39%, the 32nd percentile. No source names a fixed version.