CVE-2026-40453 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.9) CWE-178 vulnerability in org.apache.camel:camel-coap. A fix is available for org.apache.camel:camel-coap — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Apache Camel JMS, Apache Camel CoAP, Apache Camel Google PubSub: Incomplete fix for CVE-2025-27636 in non-HTTP HeaderFilterStrategies (camel-jms, camel-sjms, camel-coap, camel-google-pubsub) allows case-variant header injection
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2026-40453.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2026-40453 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,636 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
org.apache.camel:camel-coap☕org.apache.camel:camel-coap☕org.apache.camel:camel-coap☕org.apache.camel:camel-google-pubsub☕org.apache.camel:camel-google-pubsub☕org.apache.camel:camel-google-pubsub☕org.apache.camel:camel-jms☕org.apache.camel:camel-jms+4 moreReal-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 fix for CVE-2025-27636 added setLowerCase(true) to HttpHeaderFilterStrategy so that case-variant header names such as 'CAmelExecCommandExecutable' are filtered out alongside 'CamelExecCommandExecutable'. The same setLowerCase(true) call was not applied to five non-HTTP HeaderFilterStrategy implementations: JmsHeaderFilterStrategy and ClassicJmsHeaderFilterStrategy in camel-jms, SjmsHeaderFilterStrategy in camel-sjms, CoAPHeaderFilterStrategy in camel-coap, and GooglePubsubHeaderFilterStrategy in camel-google-pubsub. Because those strategies use case-sensitive String.startsWith('Camel'/'camel') filtering while the Camel Exchange stores headers in a case-insensitive map, an attacker with JMS (or equivalent) producer access to the broker consumed by a Camel route can inject case-variant Camel internal headers, which are then resolved by downstream components such as camel-exec and camel-file using their canonical casing. This enables remote code execution and arbitrary file write on routes that forward JMS messages to header-driven components.
This issue affects Apache Camel: from 3.0.0 before 4.14.6, from 4.15.0 before 4.18.2, from 4.19.0 before 4.20.0.
Users are recommended to upgrade to version 4.20.0, which fixes the issue. If users are on the 4.14.x LTS releases stream, then they are suggested to upgrade to 4.14.6. If users are on the 4.18.x releases stream, then they are suggested to upgrade to 4.18.2.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.apache.camel:camel-coap | ≥ 3.0.0&&< 4.14.6 | 4.14.6org.apache.camel:camel-coap:4.14.6 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.camel:camel-coap | ≥ 4.15.0&&< 4.18.2 | 4.18.2org.apache.camel:camel-coap:4.18.2 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.camel:camel-coap | ≥ 4.19.0&&< 4.20.0 | 4.20.0org.apache.camel:camel-coap:4.20.0 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.camel:camel-google-pubsub | ≥ 3.0.0&&< 4.14.6 | 4.14.6org.apache.camel:camel-google-pubsub:4.14.6 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.camel:camel-google-pubsub | ≥ 4.15.0&&< 4.18.2 | 4.18.2org.apache.camel:camel-google-pubsub:4.18.2 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.camel:camel-google-pubsub | ≥ 4.19.0&&< 4.20.0 | 4.20.0org.apache.camel:camel-google-pubsub:4.20.0 |
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-coap, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.apache.camel:camel-coap to 4.14.6 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-40453 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 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2026-40453 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2026-40453. 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-2026-40453 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2026-40453 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.