CVE-2026-49268 — shiro-core
CVE-2026-49268 is a CWE-90 vulnerability in org.apache.shiro:shiro-core. A fix is available for org.apache.shiro:shiro-core — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Apache Shiro: LDAP DN Injection in DefaultLdapRealm
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- 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-2026-49268.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
Real-World Exposure
org.apache.shiro:shiro-core☕org.apache.shiro:shiro-coreReal-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
A remote attacker can inject LDAP special characters into the Distinguished Name (DN) construction in DefaultLdapRealm class. User-supplied username input is directly concatenated into the LDAP DN template without any escaping of RFC 2253 special characters. This allows an attacker to manipulate the DN structure used for LDAP bind authentication, potentially bypassing authentication or impersonating other users.
This issue affects all Apache Shiro versions through 2.2.0, and 3.0.0-alpha-1 when using DefaultLdapRealm Upgrade to Apache Shiro 2.2.1 or 3.0.0-alpha-2 or later, which fixes the issue.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.apache.shiro:shiro-core | all versions | 2.2.1org.apache.shiro:shiro-core:2.2.1 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.shiro:shiro-core | ≥ 3.0.0-alpha-0&&< 3.0.0-alpha-2 | 3.0.0-alpha-2org.apache.shiro:shiro-core:3.0.0-alpha-2 |
Affected Products
shiroapacheDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.shiro:shiro-core, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.apache.shiro:shiro-core to 2.2.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-49268 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-49268 in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.