ArtemisApplication · Apache
CVE-2021-26118
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 · uneditedWhile investigating ARTEMIS-2964 it was found that the creation of advisory messages in the OpenWire protocol head of Apache ActiveMQ Artemis 2.15.0 bypassed policy based access control for the entire session. Production of advisory messages was not subject to access control in error.
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 · moderate confidenceApache ActiveMQ Artemis 2.15.0 has an access control bypass where the OpenWire protocol's advisory message creation mechanism bypassed policy-based access control for the entire session, allowing unauthorized users to produce advisory messages without proper authorization checks.
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
ArtemisApplication
= 2.15.0all versionsCVSS 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
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
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 Artemis versionCheck the version file or startup logs for Apache ActiveMQ Artemis. Look for a file named 'artemis-version.txt' in the broker installation directory, or inspect the startup logs for the version number.Affected if The installed version is exactly 2.15.0
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Verify OpenWire protocol is enabledInspect the broker configuration file (usually broker.xml or artemis.xml) for a connector or acceptor using the 'openwire' protocol. Look for entries containing 'openwire' in the transport configuration.Affected if OpenWire protocol connectors or acceptors are configured and active
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Confirm authorization policies are definedReview the security settings in the broker configuration file. Look for <security-settings> or similar authorization configuration blocks that define role-based access control for message production.Affected if No role-based authorization policies are defined, or policies exist but may not cover advisory message production
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Test advisory message production capabilityAttempt to produce an advisory message (such as a topic message to ActiveMQ.Advisory.*) using an account without elevated privileges. This requires a test client or admin tool to send a message to an advisory destination.Affected if Unauthenticated or low-privilege users can produce advisory messages to advisory topics without rejection
A user is affected if running Apache Artemis version 2.15.0 with OpenWire protocol enabled and no explicit restrictions on advisory message production in the authorization configuration.
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 to Apache ActiveMQ Artemis 2.16.0 or later which enforces access control policies on advisory message production, and verify that advisory message production is subject to the configured authorization policies.
Fix this in Artemis
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,648.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-26118 — 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-2021-26118 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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