Description
It is possible to configure Apache CXF to use the com.sun.net.ssl implementation via 'System.setProperty("java.protocol.handler.pkgs", "com.sun.net.ssl.internal.www.protocol");'. When this system property is set, CXF uses some reflection to try to make the HostnameVerifier work with the old com.sun.net.ssl.HostnameVerifier interface. However, the default HostnameVerifier implementation in CXF does not implement the method in this interface, and an exception is thrown. However, in Apache CXF prior to 3.2.5 and 3.1.16 the exception is caught in the reflection code and not properly propagated. What this means is that if you are using the com.sun.net.ssl stack with CXF, an error with TLS hostname verification will not be thrown, leaving a CXF client subject to man-in-the-middle attacks.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apache Software Foundation | Apache CXF | prior to 3.1.16, 3.2.x prior to 3.2.5 | — |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 7 | rhvm-appliance | 2:4.2-20180828.0.el7 | RHSA-2018:2643 |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat JBoss EAP 7 | eap7-activemq-artemis +15 | 1.5.5.013-1.redhat_1.1.ep7.el6 | RHSA-2018:2424, RHSA-2018:2423 |
| Red Hat JBoss EAP 7 | eap7-apache-cxf +3 | 3.1.16-1.redhat_1.1.ep7.el6 | RHSA-2018:2276 |
| Red Hat JBoss EAP 7 | eap7-bouncycastle +3 | 1.56.0-5.redhat_3.1.ep7.el6 | RHSA-2018:2424, RHSA-2018:2423 |
| Red Hat JBoss EAP 7 | eap7-guava +1 | 25.0.0-1.redhat_1.1.ep7.el6 | RHSA-2018:2424, RHSA-2018:2423 |
| Red Hat JBoss EAP 7 | eap7-hibernate +5 | 5.1.15-1.Final_redhat_1.1.ep7.el6 | RHSA-2018:2424, RHSA-2018:2423 |
| Red Hat JBoss EAP 7 | eap7-ironjacamar +8 | 1.4.10-1.Final_redhat_1.1.ep7.el6 | RHSA-2018:2424, RHSA-2018:2423 |
| Red Hat JBoss EAP 7 | eap7-jberet +1 | 1.2.6-2.Final_redhat_1.1.ep7.el6 | RHSA-2018:2424, RHSA-2018:2423 |
| Red Hat JBoss EAP 7 | eap7-jboss-ejb-client | 4.0.11-1.Final_redhat_1.1.ep7.el6 | RHSA-2018:2424, RHSA-2018:2423 |
| Red Hat JBoss EAP 7 | eap7-jboss-remoting | 5.0.8-1.Final_redhat_1.1.ep7.el6 | RHSA-2018:2424, RHSA-2018:2423 |
| Red Hat JBoss EAP 7 | eap7-jboss-server-migration +18 | 1.0.6-4.Final_redhat_4.1.ep7.el6 | RHSA-2018:2424, RHSA-2018:2423 |
| Red Hat JBoss EAP 7 | eap7-mod_cluster | 1.3.10-1.Final_redhat_1.1.ep7.el6 | RHSA-2018:2424, RHSA-2018:2423 |
| Red Hat JBoss EAP 7 | eap7-narayana +10 | 5.5.32-1.Final_redhat_1.1.ep7.el6 | RHSA-2018:2424, RHSA-2018:2423 |
| Red Hat JBoss EAP 7 | eap7-picketlink-api +9 | 2.5.5-13.SP12_redhat_1.1.ep7.el6 | RHSA-2018:2424, RHSA-2018:2423 |
| Red Hat JBoss EAP 7 | eap7-resteasy +16 | 3.0.26-1.Final_redhat_1.1.ep7.el6 | RHSA-2018:2424, RHSA-2018:2423 |
| Red Hat JBoss EAP 7 | eap7-undertow | 1.4.18-7.SP8_redhat_1.1.ep7.el6 | RHSA-2018:2424, RHSA-2018:2423 |
| Red Hat JBoss EAP 7 | eap7-wildfly +1 | 7.1.3-4.GA_redhat_3.1.ep7.el6 | RHSA-2018:2424, RHSA-2018:2423, RHSA-2018:2276 |
| Red Hat JBoss EAP 7 | eap7-wildfly-javadocs | 7.1.4-2.GA_redhat_1.1.ep7.el6 | RHSA-2018:2424, RHSA-2018:2423 |
| Red Hat JBoss EAP 7 | eap7-wildfly-naming-client | 1.0.9-1.Final_redhat_1.1.ep7.el6 | RHSA-2018:2424, RHSA-2018:2423 |
| Red Hat JBoss EAP 7 | eap7-wildfly-openssl-linux | 1.0.6-14.Final_redhat_1.1.ep7.el6 | RHSA-2018:2424, RHSA-2018:2423 |
| Red Hat JBoss EAP 7 | eap7-wildfly-transaction-client | 1.0.4-1.Final_redhat_1.1.ep7.el6 | RHSA-2018:2424, RHSA-2018:2423 |
| Red Hat JBoss EAP 7 | eap7-wildfly-web-console-eap | 2.9.18-1.Final_redhat_1.1.ep7.el6 | RHSA-2018:2424, RHSA-2018:2423 |
| Red Hat JBoss EAP 7 | eap7-wss4j +6 | 2.1.12-1.redhat_1.1.ep7.el6 | RHSA-2018:2276 |
| Red Hat JBoss EAP 7 | eap7-xml-security | 2.0.10-1.redhat_1.1.ep7.el6 | RHSA-2018:2276 |
Public exploits
Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.
Third-party code, not reviewed by us. Public PoCs are sometimes fake or contain malware. Read the code first and run it only in an isolated lab, against systems you are authorised to test.
GitHub 1 repository
-
tafamace/CVE-2018-8039 ★ 0 · Nov 19, 2018
Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.
Affected packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maven | org.apache.cxf:apache-cxf | >= 3.2.0, < 3.2.5 | 3.2.5 | GHSA-jc7r-v6fg-2gpf |
| Maven | org.apache.cxf:apache-cxf | < 3.1.16 | 3.1.16 | GHSA-jc7r-v6fg-2gpf |
| Maven | org.apache.cxf:cxf-rt-transports-http | >= 3.2.0, < 3.2.5 | 3.2.5 | GHSA-jc7r-v6fg-2gpf |
| Maven | org.apache.cxf:cxf-rt-transports-http | < 3.1.16 | 3.1.16 | GHSA-jc7r-v6fg-2gpf |
Advisories 6
- RHSA-2018:2643 Red Hat Security Advisory: rhvm-appliance security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Aug 5, 2026
- RHSA-2018:2424 Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 7.1.4 on RHEL7 security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Aug 5, 2026
- RHSA-2018:2423 Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 7.1.4 on RHEL 6 security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Aug 5, 2026
- RHSA-2018:2276 Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 7.1 security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Aug 5, 2026
- WID-SEC-2026-0180 Dell Data Protection Advisor: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Jan 20, 2026
- WID-SEC-2023-1594 IBM Tivoli Network Manager: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Jun 28, 2023
References
- https://github.com/apache/cxf/commit/fae6fabf9bd7647f5e9cb68897a7d72b545b741b
- RHSA-2018:2428 vendor-advisory
- RHSA-2018:3817 vendor-advisory
- RHSA-2018:2643 vendor-advisory
- [cxf-user] 20180628 Apache CXF 3.2.6 and 3.1.16 are released mailing-list
- 106357 vdb-entry
- RHSA-2018:2279 vendor-advisory
- RHSA-2018:2424 vendor-advisory
- RHSA-2018:2276 vendor-advisory
- RHSA-2018:2423 vendor-advisory
- RHSA-2018:2425 vendor-advisory
- RHSA-2018:2277 vendor-advisory
- http://cxf.apache.org/security-advisories.data/CVE-2018-8039.txt.asc?version=1&modificationDate=1530184663000&api=v2
- 1041199 vdb-entry
- RHSA-2018:3768 vendor-advisory
- https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpujul2019-5072835.html
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2020.html
- [cxf-commits] 20200116 svn commit: r1055336 - in /websites/production/cxf/content: cache/main.pageCache security-advisories.data/CVE-2019-12423.txt.asc security-advisories.data/CVE-2019-17573.txt.asc security-advisories.html mailing-list
- [cxf-commits] 20200319 svn commit: r1058035 - in /websites/production/cxf/content: cache/main.pageCache security-advisories.data/CVE-2019-17573.txt.asc security-advisories.html mailing-list
- [cxf-commits] 20200401 svn commit: r1058573 - in /websites/production/cxf/content: cache/main.pageCache index.html security-advisories.data/CVE-2020-1954.txt.asc security-advisories.html mailing-list
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2020.html
- [cxf-commits] 20201112 svn commit: r1067927 - in /websites/production/cxf/content: cache/main.pageCache security-advisories.data/CVE-2020-13954.txt.asc security-advisories.html mailing-list
- [cxf-commits] 20210402 svn commit: r1073270 - in /websites/production/cxf/content: cache/main.pageCache security-advisories.data/CVE-2021-22696.txt.asc security-advisories.html mailing-list
- [cxf-commits] 20210616 svn commit: r1075801 - in /websites/production/cxf/content: cache/main.pageCache index.html security-advisories.data/CVE-2021-30468.txt.asc security-advisories.html mailing-list