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
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
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 |
Affected Products
camelapacheDetection & 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.
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.
This Critical flaw in Apache Camel allows remote code execution and arbitrary file write. An attacker with Java Message Service (JMS) producer access can exploit a discrepancy in header processing, where case-variant internal headers are filtered case-sensitively but processed case-insensitively. This enables the…
This flaw may be mitigated by temporarily disabling routes that allows arbitrary writes and executions (camel-exec and camel-file)Source: Red Hat security advisory for CVE-2026-40453 (CC BY 4.0)
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Build of Apache Camel 4.14 for Quarkus 3.27 | camel-google-pubsub | RHSA-2026:19835 |
| Red Hat build of Apache Camel 4.18.1 for Spring Boot 3.5.14 | camel-google-pubsub | RHSA-2026:17668 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-40453 in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.