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No exploitation reportedFix available

CVE-2026-97468

Apache CXF: Authentication bypass via weak cache keys for validated STS tokens

No exploitation reported by the sources we read.

  • Published2026-10-09
  • Fixed in4.2.4 · 4.1.9 · 3.6.13
  • WeaknessCWE-328

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

Description

Apache CXF's STSTokenValidator and Security Token Service (STS) cached validated security tokens under a non-cryptographic 32-bit hash of the token (Java Arrays.hashCode/hashCode()), and treated a cache hit as proof that the presented token had already been validated. An attacker could craft a token (for example a UsernameToken or a self-signed SAML Assertion) whose hash collides with a cached entry. The token would then be accepted without password validation, signature trust verification or a call to the STS. This could let the attacker authenticate as another user and, through STS token validation or renewal, obtain STS-signed tokens for that identity. Users are recommended to upgrade to versions 4.2.4 or 4.1.9 or 3.6.13, which fix this issue.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2026-10-0911:17CVE publishedNVD

Observed activity

isMalicious corpus · updated 2026-10-23 18:48 UTC
Indicators tagged with this CVE, per day0 indicators over 7 days
Block these indicators
  • Firewall list (EDL, text): https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2026-97468?format=txt
  • CSV export: https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2026-97468?format=csv
  • TAXII collection of exploited CVEs
  • The EDL and CSV take an API key on the Pro plan.

Versions per branch

NVD
Apache cxf
BranchAffectedFixed in
4.2≥ 4.2.0, < 4.2.44.2.4
4.x≥ 4.0.0, < 4.1.94.1.9
3.6< 3.6.133.6.13

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Distribution builds and vendor advisories

Packages from OSV.dev and products from the vendors' CSAF advisories.

version not verifiedVersions not verified: read as OSV.dev and the vendors publish them, not checked against each vendor's release list.

Vendor advisories

  • CVE-2026-97468 Red Hat Product Security9 known affected

    org.apache.cxf/cxf-rt-ws-security: org.apache.cxf/cxf-services-sts-core: Apache CXF: Authentication bypass via hash collision in token cache

    cxf-rt-ws-security as a component of Red Hat build of Apache Camel 4 for Quarkus 3 · cxf-rt-ws-security as a component of Red Hat build of Apache Camel for Spring Boot 4 · cxf-rt-ws-security as a component of Red Hat Fuse 7 · +6 more

Full record on NVD

Fix

  1. Update Apache cxf to 4.2.4 · 4.1.9 · 3.6.13
  2. Workaround from the vendor Red Hat Product Security CVE-2026-97468 · 9 productsMitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base, or stability. Upstream Apache CXF has addressed this issue in versions 4.2.4, …
  3. No fix available, says the vendor Red Hat Product Security CVE-2026-97468 · 4 productsAffected
  4. No fix planned, says the vendor Red Hat Product Security CVE-2026-97468 · 4 productsOut of support scope
  5. No fix planned, says the vendor Red Hat Product Security CVE-2026-97468 · 1 productWill not fix

Advisories and patches

Detection

Nuclei template
none so far
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
no entry
Exploit-DB
Proof-of-concept repositories
none listed
PoC-in-GitHub

Sources

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Published
2026-10-09
Last Modified
2026-10-20
NVD status
Analyzed

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-97468?

Apache CXF's STSTokenValidator and Security Token Service (STS) cached validated security tokens under a non-cryptographic 32-bit hash of the token (Java Arrays.hashCode/hashCode()), and treated a cache hit as proof that the presented token had already been validated. An attacker could craft a token (for example a UsernameToken or a self-signed SAML Assertion) whose hash collides with a cached entry. The token would then be accepted without password validation, signature trust verification or a call to the STS. This could let the attacker authenticate as another user and, through STS token validation or renewal, obtain STS-signed tokens for that identity. Users are recommended to upgrade to versions 4.2.4 or 4.1.9 or 3.6.13, which fix this issue.

Is CVE-2026-97468 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2026-97468 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 0.2% on 2026-10-22, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-97468?

CVE-2026-97468 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.1 (CRITICAL severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N.

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