CVE-2026-85250: CWE-611 Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference in Apache Software Foundation Apache Camel

Apache Camel's XPath component improperly restricts XML External Entity references when the documentType is set to InputSource. In this configuration, the payload is passed directly to javax.xml.xpath, which uses the JDK's default DocumentBuilder without the hardening applied to Camel's default document type. This discrepancy allows DOCTYPE declarations and external entities to be resolved and expanded, potentially enabling an attacker to read files accessible by the Camel process or cause it to make network requests. The issue affects Apache Camel versions >=4.0.0 <4.18.5 and >=4.19.0 <4.22.1. The vulnerability is addressed by upgrading to Apache Camel 4.23.0, 4.18.5, or 4.22.1, where the InputSource document type uses the same hardened parser as the default type, refusing DOCTYPE declarations. Deployments that cannot upgrade should avoid using documentType=InputSource on untrusted XML inputs.

An attacker able to supply XML to an affected Apache Camel XPath expression with documentType set to InputSource can exploit this vulnerability to read files accessible by the Camel process and cause the process to issue network requests to arbitrary hosts. This can lead to information disclosure and potential interaction with external systems without authorization. The CVSS score of 7.5 reflects a high severity impact with network attack vector, low attack complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction, and high confidentiality impact.

A fix is available and users should upgrade to Apache Camel 4.23.0, or to 4.18.5 or 4.22.1 if using the respective LTS streams. These versions harden the InputSource document type parser to refuse DOCTYPE declarations, mitigating the vulnerability. For deployments unable to upgrade immediately, avoid using documentType=InputSource on expressions evaluated over untrusted XML. Note that if system properties are set to relax the DocumentBuilderFactory configuration, the protection may be intentionally disabled by design.