Apache Kafka: Kafka Streams StreamThread hang from integer overflow in stream-time punctuation

MITRE NVD CVE.ORG JSON API

Summary

CVECVE-2026-111496
StatePUBLISHED
Assignerapache
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-10-28 17:17:39 UTC
Updated2026-10-28 20:17:18 UTC
DescriptionKafka Streams derives its stream-time clock from record timestamps. PunctuationSchedule.next() computed the next punctuation time as timestamp + (intervalsMissed + 1) * interval with no overflow check. A record with a timestamp at or near Long.MAX_VALUE advances stream time to that value, so the next stream-time punctuation overflows to a negative time. PunctuationQueue then re-queues that time and loops on it indefinitely while holding a lock, stalling the StreamThread. Impact: A single record is enough. The affected StreamThread stops processing, and because the record stays in the topic the hang returns on restart; an application whose partitions are all affected becomes unresponsive. Only the Streams application is affected, not the brokers or the cluster. Triggering it needs write access to a source topic whose topology uses stream-time punctuation, and a broker that stores the record: brokers from Apache Kafka 4.0.0 reject such a timestamp by default (log.message.timestamp.after.max.ms, one hour), so it is reachable only on older brokers or where that bound has been relaxed. Mitigation: Upgrade Kafka Streams to 4.2.2, 4.3.2, or 4.4.0. As defense in depth, keep log.message.timestamp.after.max.ms bounded on source topics and restrict write access to them. Resolution: From Apache Kafka 4.2.2, 4.3.2, and 4.4.0: the next punctuation time is computed with overflow-checked arithmetic (clamped to Long.MAX_VALUE), and a rescheduled punctuation is re-queued only when its time moves forward.

Risk And Classification

Problem Types: CWE-190 | CWE-835 | CWE-190 CWE-190 Integer overflow or wraparound | CWE-835 CWE-835 Loop with unreachable exit condition ('infinite loop')

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Apache Software Foundation Apache Kafka affected 1.1.0 4.1.2 semver Not specified
CNA Apache Software Foundation Apache Kafka affected 4.2.0 4.2.1 semver Not specified
CNA Apache Software Foundation Apache Kafka affected 4.3.0 4.3.1 semver Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
kafka.apache.org/cve-list [email protected] kafka.apache.org
www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/10/28/14 af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 www.openwall.com
CVE Program record CVE.ORG www.cve.org canonical
NVD vulnerability detail NVD nvd.nist.gov canonical, analysis

Vendor Comments And Credit

Discovery Credit

CNA: Mike Read (GitHub: Michael-JRead) (en)

CNA: Matthias J. Sax <[email protected]> (en)

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