Live Exposure Defense: From CVE to Confirmed Exposure in 12 Hours – See more

Back
New CVE Detected

CVE-2026-46454 – Unauthenticated Control Header Injection in Apache Camel CometD Component – Vers…

Be the first to know when new zero-days emerge:

Subscribe to Email Alerts
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Summary

CVE-2026-46454 is an Improper Input Validation vulnerability (CWE-20) in the Apache Camel CometD component (camel-cometd), assigned a CVSS v3.1 score of 9.8 (Critical). The flaw allows unauthenticated remote attackers to inject arbitrary Camel internal control headers into a Camel Exchange by exploiting the complete absence of a HeaderFilterStrategy in the CometD message binding layer. Depending on the producers configured in a given route, successful exploitation can lead to Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF), arbitrary file path manipulation, or JMS destination override.

Technical details

  • Root cause: CometdBinding.populateExchangeFromMessage copies the entire ext.CamelHeaders map supplied by the CometD client directly onto the Camel message via message.setHeaders, without applying any HeaderFilterStrategy to filter out Camel-internal control headers such as CamelHttpUri, CamelFileName, or CamelJmsDestinationName.
  • Trigger condition: No Bayeux SecurityPolicy is installed on the CometdComponent by default. Any client that completes the Bayeux handshake against the CometD endpoint can publish messages — without authentication — containing arbitrary Camel control headers.
  • Attack vector: The CometD component operates as a network-accessible HTTP/WebSocket server-side endpoint using the Bayeux protocol (cometd://host:port/channelName), designed for real-time browser-to-server communication over HTTP/HTTPS.
  • Impact: Injected headers influence the behavior of downstream producers in the route. Examples include: redirecting an HTTP producer to an attacker-controlled destination by manipulating CamelHttpUri (SSRF); altering file write paths via CamelFileName; or diverting JMS messages by overriding CamelJmsDestinationName. Injected headers also persist across internal direct, seda, and vm route hops. The concrete impact depends on which producers are configured in the specific deployment’s route.

Affected software

  • Apache Camel 4.0.0 through 4.14.7
  • Apache Camel 4.15.0 through 4.18.2
  • Apache Camel 4.19.0 through 4.20.x

Severity

CVSS v3.1 Base Score: 9.8 (Critical)
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Mitigation and recommended actions

Immediate — Patch: Upgrade to one of the following fixed versions released by Apache:

  • 4.21.0 — recommended for users on the 4.19.x / 4.20.x release stream
  • 4.18.3 — recommended for users on the 4.18.x release stream
  • 4.14.8 — recommended for users on the 4.14.x LTS stream

The fix implements a HeaderFilterStrategy in the camel-cometd binding that filters the Camel header namespace case-insensitively on inbound mapping, preventing client-supplied Camel* / camel* headers from being copied into the Exchange.

If immediate patching is not possible — Workarounds:

  • Add removeHeaders('Camel*') and removeHeaders('camel*') at the start of any route consuming from a CometD endpoint to strip injected control headers before they reach any downstream producer.
  • Install an explicit Bayeux SecurityPolicy on the CometdComponent to restrict message publishing to authenticated clients only.

IONIX Status

The IONIX research team is tracking ongoing exploitation attempts and recommends immediate patching. Potentially affected assets are outlined in this post.

References

Are you exposed?

Get a free report of your organization’s exposure to this CVE and threat

  • Mapping of all Assets with this Technology
  • Identification of potentially exposed assets to this CVE
  • Confirmation of verified exploitable assets
Get Exposure Report

How IONIX’s External Exposure Management Platform Detects and Validates
Zero-Days to Shrink MTTR

1

Map your entire attack surface (continously)

IONIX uses multi-factor discovery methods, including DNS analysis, certificate mapping, metadata inspection, and more, to automatically map every internet-facing asset across your environment. This includes cloud instances, third-party platforms, shadow IT, and even forgotten infrastructure that traditional tools miss.

2

Monitor for new CVEs

Dozens of threat intel feeds using agentic technology are continuously analyzed to detect the appearance of proof-of-concept code, exploit kits, and indicators of active targeting. IONIX goes further by applying AI to proactively evaluate whether emerging vulnerabilities are likely to be exploited, even before PoCs go public.

3

Identify Potential External Exposures

Not all CVEs matter. IONIX filters vulnerabilities by asking attacker-centric questions: Can it be reached from the internet? Does it require authentication? Is it being exploited in the wild? This dramatically reduces noise and focuses teams on threats that can actually be weaponized.

4

Create Safe, Scalable Exploit Validations

IONIX transforms real-world PoCs into safe, non-intrusive test payloads that can be run in production environments without disruption. These simulations are precisely targeted to the systems that are vulnerable, ensuring rapid validation without unnecessary load.

5

Execute Exploit Validations

By combining context about software stack, versioning, exposure status, and reachability, IONIX ensures that only the right payloads are executed against the right assets, maximizing efficiency and minimizing risk.

6

Drive Fast and Actionable Remediation

Results are routed through integrations with ticketing, SOAR, and SIEM tools. Issues are written in plain language, bundled into remediation clusters, and prioritized based on asset criticality, exploitability, and blast radius. This shortens mean time to remediation (MTTR) and empowers teams to act with confidence.

Are you exposed?

Get a free report of your organization’s exposure to this CVE and threat

  • Mapping of all Assets with this Technology
  • Identification of potentially exposed assets to this CVE
  • Confirmation of verified exploitable assets
Get Exposure Report
Close

Subscribe to Threat Center RSS

Copy/paste the link below into your preferred RSS reader or follow these instructions to subscribe to Slack alerts.

Open RSS feedSlack setup instructions

Close

Get Real-Time CVE Alerts to Your Email

Be the first to know when new zero-days emerge