dbcve.org
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)Weakness · CWE-352

CVE-2026-12986

HIGH · 7.3 CVSS v4.0 Published 2026-06-24
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
76/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges 8 weeks old

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 · unedited
A critical vulnerability in Admin GUI in Payara Server Full 4.x, 5.x, 6.x, 7.x, 7.2026.x, 6.2025.x, 6.2024.x on All platforms that allows the attacker to leak the admin gfresttoken to an attacker-controlled host that can result in a full unauthenticated takeover of Payara admin domain. A Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in the DownloadServlet of the Admin GUI in Payara Server allows a remote attacker to exfiltrate the administrator's REST session token (gfresttoken) to an attacker-controlled host via a crafted request URL. Combined with the absence of CSRF protection on DownloadServlet, an unauthenticated attacker can trick a logged-in administrator into triggering the token leak, then replay the stolen token to gain full administrative access to the Payara domain, leading to arbitrary code execution via WAR deployment. The vulnerability exists in the DownloadServlet and associated ContentSource implementations (LogViewerContentSource, LogFilesContentSource, LBConfigContentSource, ClientStubsContentSource) within the admingui:console-common module.

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 confidence

A Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in Payara Server's Admin GUI DownloadServlet allows attackers to exfiltrate the administrator's REST session token (gfresttoken) to an attacker-controlled host. Combined with missing CSRF protection, an unauthenticated attacker can trick a logged-in admin into triggering the token leak, then replay the stolen token to gain full administrative access and deploy malicious WAR files for arbitrary code execution.

MitigationApply vendor patches when available; until then, restrict admin GUI access to trusted networks only, implement WAF rules to block suspicious outbound requests, and monitor for anomalous requests to external hosts from admin interfaces.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

CVSS 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
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
Authentication
Y
User interaction
A
Scope
P

CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:P/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:P/AU:Y/R:U/V:C/RE:M/U:Amber

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Payara Server installation and version
    Locate the Payara Server installation directory and check the version. In the Payara root directory, look for a version.txt or check the asadmin version output: asadmin version. Compare your installed version against the vendor's published affected version list.
    Affected if The installed Payara Server version falls within the vulnerable version range published by the vendor.
  2. Verify Admin GUI network exposure
    Determine if the Payara Admin Console (typically port 4848) is accessible from untrusted networks. Check server.xml for network bindings and firewall rules. Attempt to access http://<host>:4848 from an external network if authorized.
    Affected if The Admin GUI is exposed to untrusted or public networks without IP restriction.
  3. Inspect DownloadServlet availability
    Check if the DownloadServlet endpoint is accessible. The endpoint typically handles admin file downloads. Verify the presence of the servlet in the deployed web applications under the admin-gui or similar context.
    Affected if The DownloadServlet is present and accessible without additional authentication beyond admin session.
  4. Check for CSRF protection in admin endpoints
    Review the Payara Server configuration for CSRF tokens in admin requests. Inspect HTTP responses from the Admin GUI for anti-CSRF tokens or checks. Look for the presence of CSRF protection mechanisms in the admin console web.xml or corresponding configuration.
    Affected if CSRF protection is missing or not enforced on admin GUI endpoints.
  5. Monitor for anomalous outbound admin requests
    Review server access logs and network traffic for requests from the admin interface to external hosts, especially unusual destinations. Check for patterns where admin session tokens (gfresttoken) appear in URLs or headers sent to external IP addresses.
    Affected if Outbound requests from the admin interface are being made to untrusted or attacker-controlled external hosts.

You are affected if your Payara Server version contains the vulnerable DownloadServlet, the Admin GUI is accessible from untrusted networks, and either CSRF protection is missing or anomalous outbound requests with admin tokens are detected.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor patches when available; until then, restrict admin GUI access to trusted networks only, implement WAF rules to block suspicious outbound requests, and monitor for anomalous requests to external hosts from admin interfaces.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Payara Server Full 7.x latest patch or Payara 6.2026.x latest patch (confirm from official Payara Security Advisory)

  1. 1. Identify the currently running Payara Server version by checking the version in the admin console or server.log
  2. 2. Obtain the latest patched version of Payara Server that addresses CVE-2026-12986 from the official Payara download page (https://www.payara.fish/software/payara-server/)
  3. 3. Review the Payara Security Bulletin for this CVE to confirm the exact fixed version number
  4. 4. Backup the current Payara domain configuration (entire <payara-installation>/domains/domain1 directory)
  5. 5. Stop the Payara Server instance
  6. 6. Install the fixed Payara version following the standard upgrade procedure
  7. 7. Restore the domain configuration from the backup
  8. 8. Start the Payara Server and verify the admin console is accessible
Caveat Upgrading across major versions (e.g., 5.x to 7.x) may require compatibility testing; review Payara migration guides for breaking changes in admin console and REST API

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-12986 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-12986 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data