Security Bulletin: Vulnerability in Apache Calcite Avatica affects watsonx.data

Summary

Apache Calcite Avatica JDBC driver creates HTTP client instances based on class names provided via httpclient_impl connection property; however, the driver does not verify if the class implements the expected interface before instantiating it, which can lead to code execution loaded via arbitrary classes and in rare cases remote code execution. To exploit the vulnerability: 1) the attacker needs to have privileges to control JDBC connection parameters; 2) and there should be a vulnerable class (constructor with URL parameter and ability to execute code) in the classpath. From Apache Calcite Avatica 1.22.0 onwards, it will be verified that the class implements the expected interface before invoking its constructor. This can affect watsonx.data.

Vulnerability Details

CVEID:CVE-2022-36364
**DESCRIPTION:**Apache Calcite Avatica could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the system, caused by a flaw in the JDBC driver. By sending a specially-crafted request, an attacker could exploit this vulnerability to execute arbitrary code on the system.
CVSS Base score: 9.8
CVSS Temporal Score: See: https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/232360 for the current score.
CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H)

Affected Products and Versions

Remediation/Fixes

The product needs to be installed or upgraded to the latest available level watsonx.data 2.0.1 or watsonx.data on CPD 5.0.1. Installation/upgrade instructions can be found here: <https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/watsonx/watsonxdata/2.0.x?topic=deployment-installing&gt;.

Workarounds and Mitigations

None