CxfApplication · Apache
CVE-2014-3584
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThe SamlHeaderInHandler in Apache CXF before 2.6.11, 2.7.x before 2.7.8, and 3.0.x before 3.0.1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite loop) via a crafted SAML token in the authorization header of a request to a JAX-RS service.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThe SamlHeaderInHandler in Apache CXF versions before 2.6.11, 2.7.x before 2.7.8, and 3.0.x before 3.0.1 contains a denial of service vulnerability where a specially crafted SAML token in the authorization header of a JAX-RS request triggers an infinite loop, causing the service to become unresponsive.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
CxfApplication
<= 2.6.10= 2.6.1= 2.7.0= 2.7.1= 2.7.2= 2.7.3= 2.7.4= 2.7.5= 2.7.6= 2.7.7= 3.0.0CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Apache CXF installationSearch for CXF libraries in your application dependencies (Maven pom.xml, Gradle build files, or lib directories) and identify the exact version number of the cxf-core or cxf-bundle artifactAffected if The CXF version is 2.6.10 or lower, between 2.7.0 and 2.7.7 inclusive, or 3.0.0 exactly
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Confirm SAML header processing is in useReview your CXF configuration files (such as beans.xml, cxf.xml, or spring configuration) and JAX-RS endpoint definitions to determine if SamlHeaderInHandler or SAML-based authentication is configuredAffected if SAML token processing via SamlHeaderInHandler is enabled in your CXF configuration
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Verify JAX-RS endpoint accepts authorization headersInspect your JAX-RS service definitions and confirm they accept Authorization or custom SAML headers in incoming requestsAffected if Your JAX-RS endpoints process authorization headers that could contain SAML tokens
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Check for infinite loop indicatorsMonitor application logs and thread dumps during processing of requests with SAML tokens in the Authorization header. Look for patterns of repeated processing without completion or high CPU usage on worker threadsAffected if Requests with SAML tokens in authorization headers cause the application to hang or loop indefinitely
You are affected if your application runs a vulnerable Apache CXF version (below 2.6.11, below 2.7.8, or exactly 3.0.0) AND processes SAML tokens through SamlHeaderInHandler in JAX-RS authorization headers.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpgrade Apache CXF to version 2.6.11, 2.7.8, or 3.0.1 or later. If immediate upgrading is not feasible, consider restricting or validating SAML tokens at a gateway or frontend before they reach the JAX-RS service.
Fix this in Cxf
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,896.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-3584 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2014-3584 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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