CVE-2026-97791: apache software foundation apache cxf Race Condition

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2026-97791 is a high (CVSS 7.5) Race Condition vulnerability in apache software foundation apache cxf. EPSS estimates a 0.25% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 14.9% of scored vulnerabilities.

Timeline

1. 09-10-2026
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 15-10-2026
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

In Apache CXF, STSTokenValidator checks whether a SAML assertion is signed by a trusted certificate before deciding to send it to the STS. That result was stored in one object shared by all requests, so one request could read another's result. A remote, unauthenticated attacker could send a forged assertion signed with an untrusted certificate while legitimate requests were being processed, and it could be accepted as trusted without ever reaching the STS. Only services that use STSTokenValidator to validate SAML tokens without alwaysValidateToSts set are affected. Users are recommended to upgrade to versions 4.2.4 or 4.1.9 or 3.6.13, which fix this issue.

• CWE-362Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')The product contains a concurrent code sequence that requires temporary, exclusive access to a shared resource, but a timing window exists in which the shared resource can be modified by another code sequence operating concurrently.