CVE-2026-42402

Description

Apache Neethi is vulnerable to a Denial of Service attack through algorithmic complexity in policy normalization. Specially crafted WS-Policy documents can trigger an exponential Cartesian cross-product expansion during the normalization process, causing unbounded memory allocation that exhausts the JVM heap. This occurs when the normalization process generates an excessive number of policy alternatives without bounds, leading to runtime memory exhaustion. Users should upgrade to 3.2.2 which limits the maximum number of normalized policy alternatives.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

7.5

HIGH

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

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0004

Probability of exploitation

0.12%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-400 Uncontrolled Resource Consumption

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
apache	neethi	< 3.2.2

References

Advisories & Patches

https://lists.apache.org/thread/p826j0phhmr9f83wzpmys1y0bdfrr2q4

Other References

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/05/01/6

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-42402? +

Apache Neethi is vulnerable to a Denial of Service attack through algorithmic complexity in policy normalization. Specially crafted WS-Policy documents can trigger an exponential Cartesian cross-product expansion during the normalization process, causing unbounded memory allocation that exhausts the JVM heap. This occurs when the normalization process generates an excessive number of policy alternatives without bounds, leading to runtime memory exhaustion. Users should upgrade to 3.2.2 which limits the maximum number of normalized policy alternatives. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2026-42402? +

CVE-2026-42402 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.5 out of 10, rated HIGH. This is a high-severity vulnerability that should be prioritized for patching. The EPSS score is 0.0004, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

What products are affected by CVE-2026-42402? +

CVE-2026-42402 affects products from apache, specifically: neethi. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-42402? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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