Apache CXF: Unbounded DEFLATE Decompression in CXF JOSE/JWE and SAML Processing (Decompression Bomb)

MITRE NVD CVE.ORG JSON API

Summary

CVECVE-2026-78384
StatePUBLISHED
Assignerapache
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-10-09 11:17:02 UTC
Updated2026-10-20 12:43:34 UTC
DescriptionCompressionUtils.inflate() decompressed attacker-controlled DEFLATE data with no output-size cap. A small (~KB) crafted payload could expand to gigabytes on the heap. Reachable via JWE decryption when zip=DEF (e.g. JoseSessionTokenProvider with RSA-OAEP key wrap) and via SAML redirect/POST binding token inflation — in both cases decompression happens before/independent of trust validation. Fix: Added a configurable maximum inflated-size cap (default 10 MiB, org.apache.cxf.compression-max-inflated-size system property) to CompressionUtils.inflate(); aborts with DataFormatException once exceeded. Users are recommended to upgrade to versions 4.2.4 or 4.1.9 or 3.6.13, which fix this issue.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 7.5 HIGH from ADP

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

EPSS: 0.001590000 probability, percentile 0.044550000 (date 2026-10-11)

Problem Types: CWE-409 | CWE-409 CWE-409 Improper Handling of Highly Compressed Data (Data Amplification)

VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1ADPDECLARED7.5HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
3.1134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0Secondary7.5HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)

TypeVendorProductVersionUpdateEditionLanguage
Application Apache Cxf All All All All

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Apache Software Foundation Apache CXF affected 4.2.0 4.2.4 semver Not specified
CNA Apache Software Foundation Apache CXF affected 4.0.0 4.1.9 semver Not specified
CNA Apache Software Foundation Apache CXF affected 3.6.13 semver Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/10/09/6 af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 www.openwall.com Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
lists.apache.org/thread.html/xoh63rlxn0m9koft5j4jxrfd0hf81v3q [email protected] lists.apache.org Issue Tracking, Vendor Advisory
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: Guanping Zhang reported this vulnerability. (en)

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