Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-40466

RCE in Apache Activemq ≤ 5.19.6

Published
24 April 2026
Modified
15 July 2026
CVSS Score v3.1 8.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.048 91th percentile
Risk Priority 76 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-40466 is a high-severity Improper Input Validation (CWE-20) vulnerability in Apache Activemq. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059); ranked in the top 9% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2026-40466 is an improper input validation and code injection vulnerability affecting Apache ActiveMQ Broker, Apache ActiveMQ All, and Apache ActiveMQ. It impacts versions before 5.19.6 and versions from 6.0.0 before 6.2.5. The flaw resides in the broker's handling of network connectors added through management interfaces when the activemq-http module is present on the classpath.

An authenticated attacker with access to Jolokia can exploit the issue by invoking BrokerView.addNetworkConnector or BrokerView.addConnector to register an HTTP Discovery transport. A malicious HTTP endpoint can supply a VM transport URI that evades the validation introduced for CVE-2026-34197; the attacker then supplies a brokerConfig parameter referencing a remote Spring XML context. Because ResourceXmlApplicationContext instantiates beans before BrokerService performs its checks, arbitrary code execution occurs inside the broker JVM via methods such as Runtime.exec().

The Apache ActiveMQ project recommends upgrading to version 5.19.6 or 6.2.5 to resolve the vulnerability. The associated EPSS score has remained flat at 0.1801 with no material increase observed after disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Improper Input Validation, Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection') vulnerability in Apache ActiveMQ Broker, Apache ActiveMQ All, Apache ActiveMQ. An authenticated attacker may bypass the fix in CVE-2026-34197 by adding a connector using an HTTP Discovery transport via…

more

BrokerView.addNetworkConnector or BrokerView.addConnector through Jolokia if the activemq-http module is on the classpath. A malicious HTTP endpoint can return a VM transport through the HTTP URI which will bypass the validation added in CVE-2026-34197. The attacker can then use the VM transport's brokerConfig parameter to load a remote Spring XML application context using ResourceXmlApplicationContext. Because Spring's ResourceXmlApplicationContext instantiates all singleton beans before the BrokerService validates the configuration, arbitrary code execution occurs on the broker's JVM through bean factory methods such as Runtime.exec(). This issue affects Apache ActiveMQ Broker: before 5.19.6, from 6.0.0 before 6.2.5; Apache ActiveMQ All: before 5.19.6, from 6.0.0 before 6.2.5; Apache ActiveMQ: before 5.19.6, from 6.0.0 before 6.2.5. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 5.19.6 or 6.2.5, which fixes the issue.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
T1059.002 AppleScript Execution
Adversaries may abuse AppleScript for execution.
T1059.004 Unix Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse Unix shell commands and scripts for execution.
T1059.005 Visual Basic Execution
Adversaries may abuse Visual Basic (VB) for execution.
T1059.006 Python Execution
Adversaries may abuse Python commands and scripts for execution.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-45505Same product: Apache Activemq
CVE-2026-41044Same product: Apache Activemq
CVE-2026-42588Same product: Apache Activemq
CVE-2026-34197Same product: Apache Activemq
CVE-2026-40563Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2023-33246Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2025-59059Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2024-51941Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2023-37582Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2024-36268Same vendor: Apache

Affected Assets

apache
activemq
≤ 5.19.6 · 6.0.0 — 6.2.5
apache
activemq broker
≤ 5.19.6 · 6.0.0 — 6.2.5

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 6 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.3.1

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Developer testing and evaluation can discover missing input validation through analysis or test cases.

SI-10 directly requires validity checks on information inputs, structurally preventing improper or missing validation.

Least privilege limits the damage an injected code fragment can perform once executed.

Requiring documented development standards and tools can embed input-validation practices into the engineering process.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly require and enforce input validation during development.

PR.DS-10 none match
prevents

PR.DS-10 protects runtime data confidentiality/integrity but has no bearing on neutralizing externally influenced input during code generation, so neither direction shows any preventive effect.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

finds

Testing against a defined set of requirements and using code review plus vulnerability scanning forces validation of inputs and handling of unanticipated conditions, reducing the chance that malformed data will be accepted.

prevents

Secure-coding guidelines and mandatory security testing (including code scans) compel developers to validate and sanitize inputs at design and implementation time, lowering the incidence of malformed or malicious data reaching downstream components.

prevents

Mandating input controls that include integrity checks and input validation ensures that untrusted data is examined before use, blocking the root cause of many injection and malformed-data weaknesses.

prevents

Security-by-design principles explicitly call for data validation and sanitization at every layer, reducing the chance that malformed or malicious input will be processed without scrutiny.

prevents

Requiring language-specific secure coding standards, peer review, SAST and documented mitigation of common programming errors forces validation of all inputs before they are trusted.

none

Regular automated validation of system software and data content, combined with scanning of all inbound files, enforces input validation at the boundary before untrusted content is processed.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

RHEL 8 (1 rule)
  • V-230265 RHEL 8 must prevent the installation of software, patches, service packs, device drivers, or operating system components of local packages without verification they have been digitally signed using a certificate that is issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is recognized and approved by the organization. prevents CWE-20

References