CVE-2026-46592: apache software foundation apache camel Improper Input Validation

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2026-46592 is a high (CVSS 7.5) Improper Input Validation vulnerability in apache software foundation apache camel. EPSS estimates a 0.63% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 48.9% of scored vulnerabilities.

Timeline

1. 06-07-2026
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 06-07-2026
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

Improper Input Validation, Unintended Proxy or Intermediary ('Confused Deputy') vulnerability in Apache Camel CXF SOAP component. The camel-cxf producer selects which SOAP operation to invoke on the backend service from the operationName (and operationNamespace) Exchange header, whose constant values (CxfConstants.OPERATION_NAME / OPERATION_NAMESPACE) were the plain strings operationName / operationNamespace. Because these names do not start with the Camel / camel prefix, HttpHeaderFilterStrategy - which blocks only the Camel header namespace on the HTTP boundary - let them pass from an inbound HTTP request straight into the Exchange. In a route that bridges an HTTP consumer (for example platform-http) into a cxf: producer, any HTTP client could therefore set the operationName header and have CxfProducer resolve and invoke a different WSDL operation than the route intended - for example replacing a read operation with a destructive one - against the backend SOAP service (a confused-deputy redirection). The constant is defined in the shared camel-cxf-common module, so the same non-prefixed names also applied to camel-cxfrs. No credentials are required when the bridging consumer is unauthenticated. This issue affects Apache Camel: from 4.0.0 before 4.14.8, from 4.15.0 before 4.18.3, from 4.19.0 before 4.21.0. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 4.21.0, which fixes the issue. If users are on the 4.14.x LTS releases stream, then they are suggested to upgrade to 4.14.8. If users are on the 4.18.x releases stream, then they are suggested to upgrade to 4.18.3. After upgrading, the operation-selection headers are named CamelCxfOperationName / CamelCxfOperationNamespace and are filtered at transport boundaries; see the 4.21 upgrade guide for the cross-transport carrier-header pattern. For deployments that cannot upgrade immediately, do not select the CXF operation from untrusted input: strip the operationName and operationNamespace headers from any untrusted ingress before the cxf: producer and set the operation from a trusted source in the route.

• CWE-20Improper Input ValidationThe product receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly.
• CWE-441Unintended Proxy or Intermediary ('Confused Deputy')The product receives a request, message, or directive from an upstream component, but the product does not sufficiently preserve the original source of the request before forwarding the request to an external actor that is outside of the product's control sphere. This causes the product to appear to be the source of the request, leading it to act as a proxy or other intermediary between the upstream component and the external actor.