CVE-2026-42403

Description

Apache Neethi does not properly detect circular references in policy definitions. When a WS-Policy document contains circular policy references (where Policy A references Policy B which references Policy A), the policy normalization process can enter an infinite loop or cause excessive recursion, leading to a stack overflow or application hang. An attacker can craft malicious policy documents with circular references to cause a Denial of Service condition Users are recommended to upgrade to version 3.2.2, which fixes this issue.

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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

0.0003

Probability of exploitation

0.11%

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/zm6t8skkkskjwk1881l4m4n0l7dqclzo

Other References

http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/05/01/7

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-42403? +

Apache Neethi does not properly detect circular references in policy definitions. When a WS-Policy document contains circular policy references (where Policy A references Policy B which references Policy A), the policy normalization process can enter an infinite loop or cause excessive recursion, leading to a stack overflow or application hang. An attacker can craft malicious policy documents with circular references to cause a Denial of Service condition Users are recommended to upgrade to version 3.2.2, which fixes this issue. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2026-42403? +

CVE-2026-42403 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 0.0003, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

What products are affected by CVE-2026-42403? +

CVE-2026-42403 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-2026-42403? +

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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