VulnerabilityPublished 4 Feb 2026

CVE-2026-24735: Apache Answer · Exposure of Private Personal Information to an Unauthorized Actor

Affects Apache AnswerSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High : upgrade to 2.0.0 soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 12:29 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.5High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 52% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 2.0.0

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: None
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 4 Feb 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade org.apache.answer/apache-answer to 2.0.0.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Apache Software FoundationApache Answer	Affected <=1.7.1	Fixed in–
Mavenorg.apache.answer/apache-answer`pkg:maven/org.apache.answer/apache-answer`Other threats	Affected <2.0.0	Fixed in 2.0.0

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

The primary mitigation is to upgrade Apache Answer to version 2.0.0 or later, where the vulnerability is fixed. Until the upgrade can be performed, organizations should restrict network access to the vulnerable API endpoints, ideally by implementing firewall rules or API gateway policies that limit access to trusted internal networks or authenticated users only. Conduct thorough audits of API access logs to detect any unauthorized retrieval attempts of revision histories. Review and tighten access control configurations on all API endpoints to ensure no sensitive data is exposed without proper authorization. Implement monitoring and alerting for unusual API activity patterns. Additionally, organizations should review their data retention and deletion policies to ensure that deleted content is properly sanitized and inaccessible. Finally, coordinate with legal and compliance teams to prepare for potential incident response if exposure is suspected.

Description

Exposure of Private Personal Information to an Unauthorized Actor vulnerability in Apache Answer. This issue affects Apache Answer: through 1.7.1. An unauthenticated API endpoint incorrectly exposes full revision history for deleted content. This allows unauthorized user to retrieve restricted or sensitive information. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 2.0.0, which fixes the issue.

Impact

For European organizations, the exposure of private personal information can lead to severe regulatory and reputational consequences, especially under GDPR requirements that mandate strict protection of personal data. Unauthorized access to deleted content revision histories could reveal sensitive user data, internal communications, or confidential business information. This could result in data breaches, loss of customer trust, and potential fines from data protection authorities. Organizations in sectors such as government, healthcare, finance, and research, which often handle sensitive personal or classified information, are particularly at risk. The vulnerability's ease of exploitation means attackers could quickly leverage it to gather intelligence or conduct further attacks. Additionally, the exposure of deleted content undermines data retention and deletion policies, complicating compliance efforts.

CWE-359Exposure of Private Personal Information to an Unauthorized Actor (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product does not properly prevent a person's private, personal information from being accessed by actors who either (1) are not explicitly authorized to access the information or (2) do not have the implicit consent of the person about whom the information is collected.
Requirements
Identify and consult all relevant regulations for personal privacy. An organization may be required to comply with certain federal and state regulations, depending on its location, the type of business it conducts, and the nature of any private data it handles.
Architecture and Design
Carefully evaluate how secure design may interfere with privacy, and vice versa. Security and privacy concerns often seem to compete with each other. From a security perspective, all important operations should be recorded so that any anomalous activity can later be identified.
Implementation · Operation · Attack Surface Reduction
Some tools can automatically analyze documents to redact, strip, or "sanitize" private information, although some human review might be necessary. Tools may vary in terms of which document formats can be processed.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Error Handling (opens in a new tab)
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V10.2.1 (opens in a new tab)
V8.3.4 (opens in a new tab)
V14.3.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Evercookie (opens in a new tab)
Cross Site Identification (opens in a new tab)
Probe iOS Screenshots (opens in a new tab)
Shoulder Surfing (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 4 Feb 2026, 16:29 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-359

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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