Description

The Apache Software Foundation has addressed a critical security vulnerability, identified as CVE-2024-52338, in the Apache Arrow R package, affecting versions 4.0.0 through 16.1.0. The flaw stems from insecure deserialization in the IPC and Parquet readers, which could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code by processing specially crafted files. Systems that handle user-provided Arrow IPC, Feather, or Parquet files are particularly at risk, highlighting the potential danger for data processing and analytics applications that rely on this package. This vulnerability specifically affects the R implementation of Apache Arrow, while other versions remain unaffected. Exploitation could lead to system compromise and unauthorized access to sensitive data, posing serious risks to organizations that use the package for in-memory analytics or data exchange. Systems that integrate the vulnerable R package with other Apache Arrow libraries may also be exposed. This incident underscores the importance of exercising caution when processing untrusted data in analytical environments. To mitigate the risk, users are advised to update to version 17.0.0 or later of the Apache Arrow R package as soon as possible. For those unable to upgrade immediately, a temporary solution involves loading untrusted data into a Table object and using the to_data_frame method for secure processing. This workaround helps minimize exposure to potential attacks. Additionally, downstream libraries dependent on the affected versions must also update to ensure ongoing security.