Apache Neethi: Crafted WS-Policy documents bypass element/attribute limits causing memory exhaustion
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-91864 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | apache |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-09-21 12:17:24 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-09-25 13:09:39 UTC |
| Description | A specially crafted WS-Policy document can pack unlimited content inside a policy assertion, which Neethi copies into memory without counting it against its size limits, exhausting the heap (denial of service). Users are recommended to upgrade to version 3.2.4, which fixes 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:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS: 0.007400000 probability, percentile 0.527730000 (date 2026-09-27)
Problem Types: CWE-770 | CWE-770 CWE-770 Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | ADP | DECLARED | 7.5 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
| 3.1 | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 | Secondary | 7.5 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
NetworkAttack Complexity
LowPrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
NoneScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
NoneIntegrity
NoneAvailability
HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)
Vendor Declared Affected Products
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | Apache Software Foundation | Apache Neethi | affected 3.2.4 semver | Not specified |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| lists.apache.org/thread/400kbynbyhqhsjkv1yz251jm9wdz8z69 | [email protected] | lists.apache.org | Mailing List, Vendor Advisory |
| www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/09/18/11 | af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 | www.openwall.com | Mailing List, Third Party 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: This issue was found using Claude agents to study the security of open-source projects (en)
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.