CVE-2026-91085· CVE.org (no NVD analysis yet)· CNA apache

Apache Karaf: config:install missing ACL entry allows privilege escalation to admin

Apache Karaf's shell/SSH command security is enforced by per-scope ACL configuration files (etc/org.apache.karaf.command.acl.<scope>.cfg). SecuredSessionFactoryImpl.checkSecurity() resolves the roles required for an invocation and, when no ACL rule matches the command, fails open: ACLConfigurationParser.Specificity.NO_MATCH sets passCheck = true. The safety valve for this, karaf.secured.command.compulsory.roles, ships commented out in etc/system.properties, so an unmatched command is allowed for any authenticated user. The shipped org.apache.karaf.command.acl.config ACL (assemblies/features/standard/src/main/feature/feature.xml, mirrored into instance/.../etc/org.apache.karaf.command.acl.config.cfg) has no install entry. It restricts delete to admin, restricts edit/property-*/update on the jmx.acl.*, org.apache.karaf.command.acl.* and org.apache.karaf.service.acl.* PIDs to admin, and allows manager for everything else, but config:install was simply unmatched, and therefore allowed for any authenticated user, including one holding only the viewer role. config:install <url> <finalname> fetches url and writes it into ${karaf.etc} as finalname. It calls PathUtils.checkWithin() to block .. traversal outside karaf.etc, but that folder holds every security-relevant file Karaf ships: users.properties, keys.properties, host.key, and all org.apache.karaf.*.acl.* files, including the very ACL file that (mis)governs this command. With -o/--override, an existing file is overwritten with attacker-controlled bytes fetched from an arbitrary URL. Because felix.fileinstall.dir = ${karaf.etc} (etc/config.properties), Felix FileInstall also watches and reloads any .cfg file dropped there, closing the loop without requiring a restart. By contrast, bundle:install, feature:install and kar:install are all admin-only in their own ACLs, and config:delete is admin in this same ACL, config:install was the outlier. MitigationAdd install = admin in etc/org.apache.karaf.command.acl.config.cfg (create the file is absent), and/or set karaf.secured.command.compulsory.roles=admin in etc/system.properties (and restart) to make unmatched commands fail closed by default.

—No exploit Fix available

Broken access control (IDOR)

EUVD-2026-88663

Published: Sep 29, 2026
Updated: Sep 29, 2026
EPSS: 0.2% · 5th percentile
CWE: CWE-862

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Action score

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS: 0 / 40 · —
CISA KEV: 0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS: 0 / 30 · 0.2%

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Affected systems

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Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (apache). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

Apache Software Foundation Apache Karaf
- before 4.4.12affected · semver

Same product

apache software foundation: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

CVE-2026-91006Apache Karaf: OS Command Injection in Child-Instance Launch (instance:* / InstancesMBean)
35Monitor
CVE-2026-92230Apache Karaf: Improper release of ClassLoader references via static ThreadLocal caching
30Monitor
CVE-2026-90979Apache Karaf: LDAP filter injection in JAAS LDAP login modules
29Monitor
CVE-2026-92142Apache Karaf: Authorization bypass in JMX MBean lifecycle operations
0Monitor
CVE-2026-91048Apache Karaf: Missing authorization on the jdbc:* shell command scope allows privilege escalation to remote code execution via jdbc:ds-create
0Monitor
CVE-2026-91012Apache Karaf: Path Traversal in Config Service Allows Manager-to-Admin Privilege Escalation
0Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / package	Fixed version	Source
Apache Software Foundation Apache Karaf	4.4.12	Vendor (CNA)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

PublishedSep 29, 2026
Fix recordedSep 29, 2026same day
TodaySep 30, 2026+2 d

EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

Rin Ray <rindilray@gmail.com>reporter

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

CVE-2026-910480 days apartApache Karaf: Missing authorization on the jdbc:* shell command scope allows privilege escalation to remote code execution via jdbc:ds-create
0Monitor
CVE-2026-921420 days apartApache Karaf: Authorization bypass in JMX MBean lifecycle operations
0Monitor

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

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Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).