Critical Vulnerability in Apache Parquet Java Library Enables Remote Code Execution

A severe security vulnerability (CVE-2025-30065) has been uncovered in the Apache Parquet Java library, carrying the highest possible CVSS severity score of 10.0. If exploited, this flaw could allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected systems, posing a serious threat to data pipelines, analytics systems, and cloud environments.

🚨 What Is Apache Parquet?

Apache Parquet is a popular open-source, columnar storage file format designed for high-performance data processing and retrieval. It supports complex data types, efficient compression, and advanced encoding schemes, making it widely used across big data and cloud-based analytics platforms since its launch in 2013.

🛡️ CVE-2025-30065: A Breakdown of the Threat

📌 Vulnerability Details

• CVE ID: CVE-2025-30065

• CVSS Score: 10.0 (Critical)

• Impacted Component: parquet-avro module

• Affected Versions: 1.15.0 and earlier

• Fixed Version: 1.15.1

• Discovered by: Keyi Li (Amazon)

According to the official advisory from Apache, the vulnerability stems from unsafe schema parsing in the parquet-avro module. This allows attackers to craft malicious Parquet files that, when processed, can result in arbitrary code execution on the target system.

⚠️ Who Is at Risk?

The flaw is particularly dangerous for:

• Data engineering workflows using Apache Parquet

• Cloud environments and ETL pipelines ingesting external Parquet files

• Analytics systems relying on Java-based parsing of Parquet files

 

🛑 Endor Labs warns: "This vulnerability can impact data pipelines and analytics systems, particularly when those files come from untrusted sources."

🔧 Mitigation & Patch Info

All users are strongly advised to:

• Upgrade to Apache Parquet 1.15.1 immediately

• Avoid processing untrusted Parquet files

• Audit data ingestion pipelines for potential exposure

🔍 No Exploits Yet – But Threats Are Rising

While there is no evidence of active exploitation, past trends in Apache project vulnerabilities suggest that attackers move fast. For example:

• CVE-2025-24813 (Apache Tomcat) was exploited within 30 hours of disclosure

• Recent campaigns are targeting Apache Tomcat servers with Java-based web shells and cryptojacking payloads, as noted by Aqua Security

 

💬 Assaf Morag, Threat Intelligence at Aqua:
“The malicious script checks for root privileges and optimizes CPU usage for cryptocurrency mining, while establishing persistence and enabling arbitrary Java code execution.”

🌍 Global Implications

With evidence pointing to Chinese-speaking threat actors behind similar campaigns, and the cross-platform nature of these attacks (affecting both Windows and Linux), organizations must act swiftly to patch vulnerabilities and monitor cloud resources for suspicious activity.

✅ Key Takeaways

• CVE-2025-30065 in Apache Parquet Java library allows remote code execution

• All versions up to 1.15.0 are vulnerable – Upgrade to 1.15.1 now

• Avoid ingesting untrusted Parquet files

• Monitor your systems for unauthorized Java execution or cryptojacking behavior

🔐 Stay Protected

For more updates on critical vulnerabilities, cloud threats, and cybersecurity alerts, follow easy4hub for real-time, actionable insights.