Apache cxf-core: No restriction on attachment headers per messageGHSA-ghvc-7hp8-2g2v
HIGHGHSA-ghvc-7hp8-2g2v is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability in org.apache.cxf:cxf-core. A fix is available for org.apache.cxf:cxf-core — 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-ghvc-7hp8-2g2v.
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-core☕org.apache.cxf:cxf-core☕org.apache.cxf:cxf-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
There is no restriction on the amount of attachment headers that a message can contain when being deserialized by Apache CXF, which can lead to uncontrolled resource consumption or a denial of service attack. Users are recommended to upgrade to versions 4.2.2 or 4.1.7 or 3.6.12, which fix this issue by imposing a maximum default of 500 attachments per message.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.apache.cxf:cxf-core | ≥ 4.2.0&&< 4.2.2 | 4.2.2org.apache.cxf:cxf-core:4.2.2 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.cxf:cxf-core | ≥ 4.0.0&&< 4.1.7 | 4.1.7org.apache.cxf:cxf-core:4.1.7 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.cxf:cxf-core | all versions | 3.6.12org.apache.cxf:cxf-core:3.6.12 |
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-core, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.apache.cxf:cxf-core to 4.2.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-ghvc-7hp8-2g2v is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Do not deserialise data from untrusted sources: where the format allows it, restrict deserialisation to an explicit allowlist of expected types, and prefer a data-only format (JSON, Protobuf) over one that can reconstruct arbitrary objects until you can upgrade.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-ghvc-7hp8-2g2v in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.