CVE-2026-33454
CRITICALCVE-2026-33454 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.4) vulnerability in org.apache.camel:camel-mail. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2026-33454 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Apache Camel: Inbound Header Filter Missing in MailHeaderFilterStrategy Allows Remote Code Execution via MIME Header Injection (CVE-2025-30177 Variant)
Real-World Exposure
org.apache.camel:camel-mail☕org.apache.camel:camel-mailReal-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
The Camel-Mail component is vulnerable to Camel message header injection. The custom header filter strategy used by the component (MailHeaderFilterStrategy) only filters the 'out' direction via setOutFilterStartsWith, while it does not configure the 'in' direction via setInFilterStartsWith. As a result, when a Camel application consumes mail through camel-mail (for example via from("imap://...") or from("pop3://...")) the inbound filter check is skipped and Camel-prefixed MIME headers are mapped unfiltered into the Exchange. An attacker who can deliver an email to a mailbox monitored by such a consumer can inject Camel-specific headers that, for some Camel components downstream of the mail consumer (such as camel-bean, camel-exec, or camel-sql), can alter the behaviour of the route. This is the same pattern that was previously addressed in camel-undertow (CVE-2025-30177) and the broader incoming-header filter (CVE-2025-27636 and CVE-2025-29891).
This issue affects Apache Camel: from 3.0.0 before 4.14.6, from 4.15.0 before 4.18.1.
Users are recommended to upgrade to version 4.19.0, which fixes the issue. If users are on the 4.18.x LTS releases stream, then they are suggested to upgrade to 4.18.1. If users are on the 4.14.x LTS releases stream, then they are suggested to upgrade to 4.14.6.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.apache.camel:camel-mail | ≥ 3.0.0&&< 4.14.6 | 4.14.6 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.camel:camel-mail | ≥ 4.15.0&&< 4.18.1 | 4.18.1 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.camel:camel-mail. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update org.apache.camel:camel-mail to 4.14.6 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-33454 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2026-33454 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2026-33454. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-33454 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2026-33454 across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.