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HIGH severity

CVE-2021-22696 — cxf

HIGHFix: apache/cxf@40503a5

CVE-2021-22696 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability in org.apache.cxf:cxf. 1 public exploit or proof-of-concept reference is indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for org.apache.cxf:cxf — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Authorization service vulnerable to DDos attacks in Apache CFX

Also known asGHSA-7q4h-pj78-j7vg
Published
Updated
Affected
4 pkgs
Patched
4 / 4
Exploits
1 known
Exploitation data as of Oct 30, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗
6.6%probability of exploitation in next 30 days
Lower Risk0.00%
Lower risk than most CVEs94th percentile — riskier than 94% of all scored CVEsHighest risk
0.58%3.05%5.51%7.98%2.0%6.6%Apr 26Aug 26Oct 26

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

4 pkgs affected
☕org.apache.cxf:cxf☕org.apache.cxf:cxf☕org.apache.cxf:apache-cxf☕org.apache.cxf:apache-cxf

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

CXF supports (via JwtRequestCodeFilter) passing OAuth 2 parameters via a JWT token as opposed to query parameters (see: The OAuth 2.0 Authorization Framework: JWT Secured Authorization Request (JAR)). Instead of sending a JWT token as a "request" parameter, the spec also supports specifying a URI from which to retrieve a JWT token from via the "request_uri" parameter. CXF was not validating the "request_uri" parameter (apart from ensuring it uses "https) and was making a REST request to the parameter in the request to retrieve a token. This means that CXF was vulnerable to DDos attacks on the authorization server, as specified in section 10.4.1 of the spec. This issue affects Apache CXF versions prior to 3.4.3; Apache CXF versions prior to 3.3.10.

Affected Packages

4 total 4 fixed
EcosystemPackageVulnerable rangeFix
☕Mavenorg.apache.cxf:cxf≥ 3.4.0&&< 3.4.33.4.3org.apache.cxf:cxf:3.4.3
☕Mavenorg.apache.cxf:cxfall versions3.3.10org.apache.cxf:cxf:3.3.10
☕Mavenorg.apache.cxf:apache-cxf≥ 3.4.0&&< 3.4.33.4.3org.apache.cxf:apache-cxf:3.4.3
☕Mavenorg.apache.cxf:apache-cxfall versions3.3.10org.apache.cxf:apache-cxf:3.3.10

Affected Products

6 products · 11 configurations
Application
cxfapache
≥ 3.4.0 && < 3.4.3
range
Application
business intelligenceoracle
4 versions
5.5.0.0.05.9.0.0.012.2.1.3.012.2.1.4.0
Application
communications diameter intelligence huboracle
≥ 8.2.0 && ≤ 8.2.3
range
Application
communications element manageroracle
1 version
8.2.2
Application
communications session report manageroracle
≥ 8.0.0 && ≤ 8.2.4.0
range
Application
communications session route manageroracle
≥ 8.0.0 && ≤ 8.2.4
range
Exploits & PoCs
1

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

CXF supports (via JwtRequestCodeFilter) passing OAuth 2 parameters via a…

lists.apache.orgNVDJun 2021

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

  1. Detect

    Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.cxf:cxf, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

  2. Fix

    Update org.apache.cxf:cxf to 3.4.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-22696 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

  3. Workarounds

    Restrict outbound requests from the affected component to an allowlist of hosts, block access to link-local and internal address ranges at the network layer, and require authentication on internal services so a forged request cannot reach them unauthenticated.

Fixing This On Your OS

If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.

Red HatModerate
ProductFixed inAdvisory
JWS 5.7.0cxf-coreRHSA-2022:7273
Red Hat Fuse 7.10cxf-coreRHSA-2021:5134

Frequently Asked Questions

CXF supports (via JwtRequestCodeFilter) passing OAuth 2 parameters via a JWT token as opposed to query parameters (see: The OAuth 2.0 Authorization Framework: JWT Secured Authorization Request (JAR)). Instead of sending a JWT token as a "request" parameter, the spec also supports specifying a URI from which to retrieve a JWT token from via the "request_uri" parameter. CXF was not validating the "request_uri" parameter (apart from ensuring it uses "https) and was making a REST request to the parameter in the request to retrieve a token. This means that CXF was vulnerable to DDos attacks on the
O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

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CVE-2021-22696: cxf — Fixed in 3.4.3