For versions of Apache Knox from 0.2.0 to 0.11.0 - an authenticated user may use a specially crafted URL to impersonate another user while accessing WebHDFS through Apache Knox. This may result in escalated privileges and unauthorized data access. While this activity is audit logged and can be easily associated with the authenticated user, this is still a serious security issue. All users are recommended to upgrade to the Apache Knox 0.12.0 release.

DOM based XSS Vulnerability in Apache Knox

When using Apache Knox SSO prior to 1.6.1, a request could be crafted to redirect a user to a malicious page due to improper URL parsing. A request that included a specially crafted request parameter could be used to redirect the user to a page controlled by an attacker. This URL would need to be presented to the user outside the normal request flow through a XSS or phishing campaign.