VulnerabilityPublished 29 Sep 2026Updated 1 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-91085: Apache Karaf · Missing Authorization

Affects Apache KarafSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.3 Medium : upgrade to 4.4.12 when convenient.

Data as of 13 Nov 2026, 23:54 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.3Medium

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

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 31% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 4.4.12

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

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

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: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
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: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 29 Sep 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: 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 13 Nov 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.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), 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 Apache Karaf and org.apache.karaf/apache-karaf to 4.4.12.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Apache Software FoundationApache Karaf	Affected <4.4.12	Fixed in 4.4.12
Mavenorg.apache.karaf/apache-karaf`pkg:maven/org.apache.karaf/apache-karaf`Other threats	Affected <4.4.12	Fixed in 4.4.12

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

AI-suggested

Mitigation requires adding 'install = admin' to the etc/org.apache.karaf.command.acl.config.cfg file (creating it if absent) to restrict the config:install command to admin users. Alternatively, setting 'karaf.secured.command.compulsory.roles=admin' in etc/system.properties and restarting Karaf will cause unmatched commands to fail closed by default, preventing unauthorized execution. These mitigations address the root cause of the ACL fail-open behavior.

Description

Apache Karaf versions before 4.4.12 have a security vulnerability where the shell/SSH command ACL enforcement fails open for unmatched commands, allowing any authenticated user to execute certain commands like config:install. This command can fetch and overwrite critical configuration files, potentially leading to privilege escalation. The default configuration does not enforce strict role checks for unmatched commands, increasing risk. Mitigation involves explicitly restricting the install command to admin roles or enabling a setting to fail unmatched commands closed.

Impact

An authenticated user with minimal privileges can exploit this vulnerability to overwrite critical configuration files in the karaf.etc directory by using the config:install command. This can lead to unauthorized configuration changes, potential privilege escalation, and compromise of the Karaf environment. Automatic reloading of configuration files by Felix FileInstall exacerbates the risk by applying malicious changes immediately without requiring a restart.

Summary

Apache Karaf's shell/SSH command security relies on ACL configuration files per scope. The checkSecurity() method fails open when no ACL rule matches a command, allowing execution by any authenticated user. Specifically, the config:install command is unmatched in the default ACL config, permitting users with minimal roles (e.g., viewer) to fetch arbitrary files from URLs and overwrite files in the karaf.etc directory, which contains sensitive security files. Felix FileInstall monitors this directory and reloads configuration files automatically, enabling attackers to inject malicious configurations without restart. Other install commands are restricted to admin roles, making config:install an outlier. The vulnerability affects versions >=0 and <4.4.12.

CWE-862Missing Authorization (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #4OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product does not perform an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action.
Architecture and Design
Divide the product into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully mapping roles with data and functionality. Use role-based access control (RBAC) to enforce the roles at the appropriate boundaries.
Architecture and Design
Ensure that access control checks are performed related to the business logic. These checks may be different than the access control checks that are applied to more generic resources such as files, connections, processes, memory, and database records.
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.3.8 (opens in a new tab)
V13.4.2 (opens in a new tab)
V7.2.2 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Exploitation of Thunderbolt Protection Flaws (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 6 Oct 2026, 20:29 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-862

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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