GHSA-6pff-fmh2-4mmf is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.3) Improper Input Validation vulnerability in org.apache.cxf:cxf-rt-rs-security-jose. A fix is available for org.apache.cxf:cxf-rt-rs-security-jose — see the affected versions and patch details below.
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 GHSA-6pff-fmh2-4mmf.
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.cxf:cxf-rt-rs-security-jose☕org.apache.cxf:cxf-rt-rs-security-jose☕org.apache.cxf:cxf-rt-rs-security-joseReal-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
An improper input validation of the p2c parameter in the Apache CXF JOSE code before 4.0.5, 3.6.4 and 3.5.9 allows an attacker to perform a denial of service attack by specifying a large value for this parameter in a token.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.apache.cxf:cxf-rt-rs-security-jose | ≥ 4.0.0&&< 4.0.5 | 4.0.5org.apache.cxf:cxf-rt-rs-security-jose:4.0.5 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.cxf:cxf-rt-rs-security-jose | ≥ 3.6.0&&< 3.6.4 | 3.6.4org.apache.cxf:cxf-rt-rs-security-jose:3.6.4 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.cxf:cxf-rt-rs-security-jose | all versions | 3.5.9org.apache.cxf:cxf-rt-rs-security-jose:3.5.9 |
Affected Products
cxfapacheDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.cxf:cxf-rt-rs-security-jose, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.apache.cxf:cxf-rt-rs-security-jose to 4.0.5 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-6pff-fmh2-4mmf is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Cap what an attacker can consume: apply request size, rate and timeout limits in front of the affected component, and run it with memory and CPU limits so exhaustion degrades one worker rather than the whole service.
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.
The improper input validation vulnerability in the p2c parameter of Apache CXF JOSE is considered a moderate severity issue rather than a important one due to its limited scope and impact. While the flaw allows an attacker to specify a large value for the p2c parameter, leading to potential denial of service (DoS)…
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options don't meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.Source: Red Hat security advisory for GHSA-6pff-fmh2-4mmf (CC BY 4.0)
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat build of Apache Camel 3.20.7 for Spring Boot | see advisory | RHSA-2024:6883 |
| Red Hat build of Apache Camel 4.4.0 for Spring Boot | see advisory | RHSA-2024:2707 |
| Red Hat build of Apache Camel 4 for Quarkus 3 | cxf-rt-rs-security-jose | RHSA-2024:7052 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-6pff-fmh2-4mmf in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.