CamelApplication · Apache
CVE-2026-49098
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 · uneditedImproper Input Validation, Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection') vulnerability in Apache Camel Kafka Component. The camel-kafka producer can override its configured target topic at runtime from the kafka.OVERRIDE_TOPIC Exchange header: KafkaProducer.evaluateTopic() returns the header value in preference to the topic configured on the endpoint. The control-header constants in KafkaConstants (for example OVERRIDE_TOPIC = kafka.OVERRIDE_TOPIC, OVERRIDE_TIMESTAMP = kafka.OVERRIDE_TIMESTAMP, PARTITION_KEY = kafka.PARTITION_KEY) used plain, non-Camel-prefixed values. camel-kafka's own KafkaHeaderFilterStrategy does filter the kafka.* namespace, but only on the Kafka-to-Exchange serialization boundary (reading Kafka record headers into the Exchange, and writing Exchange headers into a Kafka record); it does not apply to headers that arrive from an upstream consumer in a multi-component route. The upstream HTTP consumer uses HttpHeaderFilterStrategy, which blocks only the Camel / camel namespace, so a kafka.* header passes through unfiltered. As a result, in a route that bridges an HTTP consumer (for example platform-http) into a kafka: producer, any HTTP client could set the kafka.OVERRIDE_TOPIC header and cause the message to be published to an arbitrary Kafka topic instead of the configured one - redirecting it to a sensitive internal topic, or injecting attacker-crafted messages into a topic consumed by a critical downstream service. The related kafka.OVERRIDE_TIMESTAMP and kafka.PARTITION_KEY headers could likewise be injected to backdate messages or target specific partitions. No credentials are required when the bridging consumer is unauthenticated. This issue affects Apache Camel: from 4.0.0 before 4.14.8, from 4.15.0 before 4.18.3, from 4.19.0 before 4.21.0. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 4.21.0, which fixes the issue. If users are on the 4.14.x LTS releases stream, then they are suggested to upgrade to 4.14.8. If users are on the 4.18.x releases stream, then they are suggested to upgrade to 4.18.3. After upgrading, routes that set or read Kafka headers via the raw header names must use the CamelKafka* names (for example CamelKafkaOverrideTopic and CamelKafkaTopic) instead of the old kafka.* values. For deployments that cannot upgrade immediately, strip the kafka.* headers from any untrusted ingress before the kafka: producer (for example removeHeaders('kafka.*') at the start of the route), and set the target topic from a trusted source.
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 confidenceApache Camel Kafka Component allows runtime topic override via the kafka.OVERRIDE_TOPIC header. Since KafkaHeaderFilterStrategy only filters kafka.* headers at the Kafka-to-Exchange boundary but not from upstream consumers like HTTP, an attacker can inject kafka.* headers through HTTP requests to redirect messages to arbitrary Kafka topics or partitions, or backdate timestamps.
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
CamelApplication
>= 4.0.0, < 4.14.8>= 4.15.0, < 4.18.3>= 4.19.0, < 4.21.0CVSS 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
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/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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Check Apache Camel versionInspect the Camel version in your project dependencies (Maven pom.xml, Gradle build file, or application manifest)Affected if version falls within any of the affected ranges: >= 4.0.0 and < 4.14.8, OR >= 4.15.0 and < 4.18.3, OR >= 4.19.0 and < 4.21.0
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Identify Kafka producer routesSearch your Camel route definitions for kafka: topic endpoints, particularly routes that receive input from non-Kafka sources such as HTTP (servlet, jetty, rest), file, or message queuesAffected if routes exist that combine non-Kafka upstream consumers with kafka: producers without intermediate header filtering
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Inspect for header stripping at route ingressReview your route definitions for removeHeaders('kafka.*') or equivalent header filtering logic applied before messages reach the Kafka producerAffected if no removeHeaders('kafka.*') pattern is configured on routes that feed from HTTP or other external consumers into Kafka endpoints
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Verify KafkaHeaderFilterStrategy configurationCheck if KafkaHeaderFilterStrategy is explicitly configured to filter inbound kafka.* headers from upstream consumers (note: by default it only filters at Kafka-to-Exchange boundary)Affected if KafkaHeaderFilterStrategy is not configured or only filters headers from Kafka consumers, not from HTTP/rest/file inputs
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Audit HTTP endpoints for Kafka header exposureReview your HTTP/rest DSL definitions to determine if incoming HTTP request headers can flow directly to Kafka producers without filteringAffected if HTTP endpoints pass all headers through to kafka: producers and no kafka.* header stripping is applied
You are affected if you run a vulnerable Camel version AND have routes where HTTP or other external consumers can inject kafka.* headers that reach Kafka producers without filtering.
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.
dbcve · scoped4.14.84.18.34.21.0
Upgrade to Apache Camel 4.21.0 (or 4.14.8/4.18.3 for LTS streams) and update code to use CamelKafka* prefixed header names (e.g., CamelKafkaOverrideTopic); alternatively, strip kafka.* headers at route ingress using removeHeaders('kafka.*').
4.21.0 (or 4.18.3 for 4.18.x stream, or 4.14.8 for 4.14.x LTS stream)
- Upgrade to one of the fixed versions: 4.21.0, 4.18.3, or 4.14.8 depending on your current release stream.
- After upgrading, update any code that sets or reads Kafka headers using the raw kafka.* header names to use the new CamelKafka-prefixed constants instead (e.g., use CamelKafkaOverrideTopic instead of kafka.OVERRIDE_TOPIC, CamelKafkaTopic instead of kafka.TOPIC, CamelKafkaPartitionKey instead of kafka.PER_PARTITION_KEY, CamelKafkaTimestamp instead of kafka.TIMESTAMP).
- Verify all routes that bridge HTTP consumers (or other non-Kafka consumers) into kafka: producers no longer use kafka.* headers for runtime overrides.
- If you cannot upgrade immediately, add a header filter at the start of affected routes: removeHeaders('kafka.*') to strip untrusted kafka.* headers from ingress before they reach the kafka: producer.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Camel
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-49098 — 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-2026-49098 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
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