CVE-2026-47846
Default superuser cassandra:cassandra left active when CASSANDRA_USER is customized
Bitnami Cassandra container images are affected by a retained default superuser vulnerability. When a custom administrator account is configured via the CASSANDRA_USER environment variable, the container initialization script creates the new superuser account but fails to drop the built-in cassandra account in certain scenarios. This leaves the default cassandra:cassandra superuser active as an unintended access path.
Affected versions — Container image: 4.0.x prior to 4.0.20-photon-5-r7; 4.1.x prior to 4.1.11-photon-5-r7; 5.0.x prior to 5.0.8-photon-5-r4 / 5.0.8-debian-12-r3.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
9.8
Bitnami Cassandra container images are affected by a retained default superuser vulnerability. When a custom administrator account is configured via the CASSANDRA_USER environment variable, the container initialization script creates the new superuser account but fails to drop the built-in cassandra account in certain scenarios. This leaves the default cassandra:cassandra superuser active as an unintended access path.
Affected versions — Container image: 4.0.x prior to 4.0.20-photon-5-r7; 4.1.x prior to 4.1.11-photon-5-r7; 5.0.x prior to 5.0.8-photon-5-r4 / 5.0.8-debian-12-r3.
- Record
CVE-2026-47846- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-798
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2026-37932
9.8
Bitnami Cassandra container images are affected by a retained default superuser vulnerability. When a custom administrator account is configured via the CASSANDRA_USER environment variable, the container initialization script creates the new superuser account but fails to drop the built-in cassandra account in certain scenarios. This leaves the default cassandra:cassandra superuser active as an unintended access path.
Affected versions — Container image: 4.0.x prior to 4.0.20-photon-5-r7; 4.1.x prior to 4.1.11-photon-5-r7; 5.0.x prior to 5.0.8-photon-5-r4 / 5.0.8-debian-12-r3.
- Record
EUVD-2026-37932- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
9.8
Bitnami Cassandra container images are affected by a retained default superuser vulnerability. When a custom administrator account is configured via the CASSANDRA_USER environment variable, the container initialization script creates the new superuser account but fails to drop the built-in cassandra account in certain scenarios. This leaves the default cassandra:cassandra superuser active as an unintended access path.
Affected versions — Container image: 4.0.x prior to 4.0.20-photon-5-r7; 4.1.x prior to 4.1.11-photon-5-r7; 5.0.x prior to 5.0.8-photon-5-r4 / 5.0.8-debian-12-r3.
- Record
CVE-2026-47846- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-798
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVBIT-cassandra-2026-47846 No score
Default superuser cassandra:cassandra left active when CASSANDRA_USER is customized
Bitnami Cassandra container images are affected by a retained default superuser vulnerability. When a custom administrator account is configured via the CASSANDRA_USER environment variable, the container initialization script creates the new superuser account but fails to drop the built-in cassandra account in certain scenarios. This leaves the default cassandra:cassandra superuser active as an unintended access path. Any remote attacker who knows the default Cassandra credentials, can authenticate to the cluster as a full superuser regardless of the operator's configuration, bypassing the intent to replace the built-in account.
- Record
BIT-cassandra-2026-47846- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
cassandraBitnami |
4.0.0 up to 4.0.20-0, 4.1.0 up to 4.1.11-0, 5.0.0 up to 5.0.8-0 | 4.0.20-04.1.11-05.0.8-0 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2026-47846 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.8) in Bitnami Bitnami/cassandra, published June 18, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.48%, the 41st percentile. Fixed in cassandra 4.0.20-0.