CxfApplication · Apache

CVE-2026-65432

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-08-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.6.12 / 4.1.8 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click 13 days 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
Apache CXF reads a top-level WSDL through its hardened StaxUtils path, which disables XML DTDs and external entities. However, any <wsdl:import> or <xsd:import> referenced from that top-level WSDL is handed off to WSDL4J, which does not disable DOCTYPE declarations or external entities. As a result, the protections applied to the top-level document do not extend to imported documents, leaving imported WSDL/XSD content vulnerable to XML External Entity (XXE) attacks. Users are recommended to upgrade to versions 4.2.3 or 4.1.8 or 3.6.12, which fix this issue.

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
How this class of weakness works · CWE-611

An XML parser processes external entity references inside untrusted documents, letting an attacker read local files, reach internal systems, or exhaust resources. It's a common trap in anything that accepts XML. The fix is to disable external entities and DTD processing in the parser.

General guidance for the xml external entity (xxe) class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

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
Affected:< 3.6.12>= 4.0.0, < 4.1.8>= 4.2.0, < 4.2.3

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

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

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 3.6.12 / 4.1.8 / 4.2.3 or later
Fixed in 3.6.124.1.84.2.3
Recommended fix High confidence

3.6.12 (for 3.x branch), 4.1.8 (for 4.1.x branch), or 4.2.3 (for 4.2.x branch)

  1. 1. Identify the current Apache CXF version in use
  2. 2. Determine which branch (3.x, 4.1.x, or 4.2.x) is currently deployed
  3. 3. For CXF 3.x versions < 3.6.12: upgrade to 3.6.12
  4. 4. For CXF 4.0.x versions >= 4.0.0, < 4.1.8: upgrade to 4.1.8
  5. 5. For CXF 4.2.x versions >= 4.2.0, < 4.2.3: upgrade to 4.2.3
  6. 6. Verify the upgrade by checking that the XXE vulnerability is resolved in imported WSDL/XSD documents

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

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $3,200. Get the upgrade done

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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-2026-65432 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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