Description
In Apache CXF, the parser for multipart/MTOM attachment part headers did not fully enforce the configured attachment-max-header-size (default 300 characters) and attachment-headers-max-count (default 500) limits. The size limit was applied only to each physical line, not to a header value built from continuation lines or to the combined values of a repeated header. The count limit was checked against the number of distinct header names, not the total number of header lines. A remote, unauthenticated attacker could send a multipart request with very large folded or repeated part headers. The server would then allocate memory without bound, causing a denial of service.
Users are recommended to upgrade to versions 4.2.4 or 4.1.9 or 3.6.13, which fix this issue.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apache Software Foundation | Apache CXF | 4.2.0 – < 4.2.4, 4.0.0 – < 4.1.9, < 3.6.13 | 4.2.4 |
Advisories 1
- WID-SEC-2026-3824 Apache CXF: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 5, 2026