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

CVE-2026-78384: Apache CXF: Unbounded DEFLATE Decompression in CXF JOSE/JWE and SAML Processing (Decompression Bomb)

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 30/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.37% (FIRST EPSS).
  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. No account or password is required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • According to CISA the attack is automatable: targets can be found by mass scanning.
  • Fixed version: Apache Software Foundation Apache CXF 3.6.13, 4.1.9, 4.2.4.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to Apache Software Foundation Apache CXF 3.6.13, 4.1.9, 4.2.4 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

CompressionUtils.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.

HighCVSS 7.5 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Oct 9, 2026
Updated
Oct 20, 2026
EPSS
0.3% · 31th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

30

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
30 / 40 · 7.5 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.3%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
none
Automatable
yes
Technical impact
partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

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When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
apachecxf

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • apache cxfbefore 3.6.13
  • apache cxf4.0.0 and later · before 4.1.9
  • apache cxf4.2.0 and later · before 4.2.4

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 CXF

    • 4.2.0 and later · before 4.2.4affected · semver
    • 4.0.0 and later · before 4.1.9affected · semver
    • before 3.6.13affected · semver

Same product

apache: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2019-12419Apache CXF before 3.3.4 and 3.2.11 provides all of the components that are required to build a fully fledged OpenId Connect service.
    43Plan
  • CVE-2010-2076Apache CXF 2.0.x before 2.0.13, 2.1.x before 2.1.10, and 2.2.x before 2.2.9, as used in Apache ServiceMix, Apache Camel, Apache Chemistry…
    42Plan
  • CVE-2012-2379Apache CXF 2.4.x before 2.4.8, 2.5.x before 2.5.4, and 2.6.x before 2.6.1, when a Supporting Token specifies a child WS-SecurityPolicy 1.1…
    41Plan

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-71575Oct 9, 2026 · Apache CXF: Inoperative max_age authentication-freshness check in OidcClientCodeRequestFilter
    36Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-73179Oct 9, 2026 · Apache CXF: JPA authorization-code consume is non-atomic
    32Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2026-79650Oct 9, 2026 · Apache CXF: OIDC RP Open Redirect
    24Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

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

Product / packageFixed versionSource
Apache Software Foundation Apache CXF3.6.13Vendor (CNA)
Apache Software Foundation Apache CXF4.1.9Vendor (CNA)
Apache Software Foundation Apache CXF4.2.4Vendor (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.

  1. Published
  2. Fix recordedsame day
  3. TodayNov 11, 2026+33 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.

Variant candidates

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

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

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

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

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

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
none
Availability
none
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
None
Availability impact
None

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-409 · Improper Handling of Highly Compressed Data (Data Amplification)

CVSS vector

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

nvd-secondary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

Change log

  1. CVSS— → 7.5
  2. Severity— → high
  3. SSVC exploitation— → none
  4. Exploit maturity— → none
  5. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Show all references (1 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records