CVE-2026-108039Apache CXF: Prevent unbounded XML document size in StaxUtils by adding default element and character limits
Updated under an hour ago ()
Does this affect you?
It affects Apache Software Foundation Apache CXF and 1 other product. Add what you run to find out whether that includes you.
EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.46%, higher than 38% of scored CVEs.
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Free account, 1 product
By default, StaxUtils placed no limit on the total number of elements or the total number of characters in an XML document. A very large request could therefore use a lot of memory and CPU during parsing, especially where CXF builds a DOM from the input (for example SAAJ or WS-Security), and could cause a denial of service when no request size limit was configured. Both limits now have defaults: the maximum element count is 100 × maxChildElements (5,000,000 by default), and the maximum document size is 256M characters. Applications that process larger documents can raise the limits with the org.apache.cxf.stax.maxElementCount and org.apache.cxf.stax.maxXMLCharacters properties. Users are recommended to upgrade to versions 4.2.4 or 4.1.9 or 3.6.13, which fix this issue.
- CVSS
- 7.5 HIGH (v3.1, CISA ADP)CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- Weakness (CWE)
- CWE-776
- Known exploited
- Not in CISA's KEV catalog
- EPSS (exploitation in the next 30 days)
- 0.46% (percentile 38)
- Assigned by
- apache
- NVD analysis
- Analyzed
- Record last updated
- Oct 15, 2026
- First seen by InfoSec Signals
- Oct 9, 2026
Affected products
Apache Software Foundation Apache CXF apache_software_foundation:apache_cxf (from the name) | from 4.2.0 before 4.2.4; from 4.0.0 before 4.1.9; before 3.6.13 | CNA record |
apache cxf apache:cxf | before 3.6.13; from 4.0.0 before 4.1.9; from 4.2.0 before 4.2.4 | NVD |
References
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/ms2gbpof609o0v1bjlzb1rn7fwh61l1jvendor-advisory, issue-tracking, mailing-list
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/10/09/14mailing-list, third-party-advisory
The CVE record on cve.org NVD's entry
The CVE record is authoritative. Products marked “from the name” were identified from the CNA's free-text names, not a CPE, and are matched less certainly. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.