Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-40858

RCE in Apache Camel 4.0.0 – 4.14.7

Published
27 April 2026
Modified
15 July 2026
Patch / advisory
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 0.0093 58th percentile
Risk Priority 66 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-40858 is a high-severity Deserialization of Untrusted Data (CWE-502) vulnerability in Apache Camel. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 42% 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-2026-40858 is a deserialization vulnerability in the camel-infinispan component of Apache Camel, specifically in its ProtoStream-based remote aggregation repository. The flaw occurs because data read from a remote Infinispan cache is deserialized using java.io.ObjectInputStream without applying any ObjectInputFilter, allowing malicious serialized objects to be processed. This issue affects Apache Camel versions from 4.0.0 before 4.14.7, from 4.15.0 before 4.18.2, and from 4.19.0 before 4.20.0.

An attacker with write access to the Infinispan cache used by a Camel application can inject a crafted serialized Java object. When the application performs normal aggregation repository operations such as get or recover, the object is deserialized, leading to arbitrary code execution in the context of the Camel application process. The vulnerability has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating network accessibility, low attack complexity, and low privileges required, with high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

The Apache Camel security advisory at https://camel.apache.org/security/CVE-2026-40858.html recommends upgrading to version 4.20.0 to resolve the issue. Users on the 4.14.x LTS stream should upgrade to 4.14.7, and those on the 4.18.x stream to 4.18.2. Additional details, including resolution commits, are available in the associated JIRA ticket at https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/CAMEL-23322. This vulnerability is classified under CWE-502 (Deserialization of Untrusted Data) and follows similar issues addressed in CVE-2024-22369, CVE-2024-23114, and CVE-2026-25747.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

The camel-infinispan component's ProtoStream-based remote aggregation repository deserializes data read from a remote Infinispan cache using java.io.ObjectInputStream without applying any ObjectInputFilter. An attacker who can write to the Infinispan cache used by a Camel application can inject a crafted serialized…

more

Java object that, when read during normal aggregation repository operations such as get or recover, results in arbitrary code execution in the context of the application. This issue affects Apache Camel: from 4.0.0 before 4.14.7, from 4.15.0 before 4.18.2, from 4.19.0 before 4.20.0. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 4.20.0, which fixes the issue. If users are on the 4.14.x LTS releases stream, then they are suggested to upgrade to 4.14.7. If users are on the 4.18.x releases stream, then they are suggested to upgrade to 4.18.2. The JIRA ticket: https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/CAMEL-23322 refers to the various commits that resolved the issue, and have more details. This issue follows the same class of vulnerability previously addressed in CVE-2024-22369, CVE-2024-23114 and CVE-2026-25747.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-40860Same product: Apache Camel
CVE-2026-40048Same product: Apache Camel
CVE-2026-40473Same product: Apache Camel
CVE-2026-43865Same product: Apache Camel
CVE-2026-46590Same product: Apache Camel
CVE-2026-43866Same product: Apache Camel
CVE-2024-23114Same product: Apache Camel
CVE-2026-42527Same product: Apache Camel
CVE-2026-27172Same product: Apache Camel
CVE-2026-25747Same product: Apache Camel

Affected Assets

apache
camel
4.19.0 · 4.0.0 — 4.14.7 · 4.15.0 — 4.18.2

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Developer testing and evaluation can uncover deserialization flaws before deployment.

Input validation directly stops deserialization of untrusted data by ensuring inputs are valid before processing.

Engineering principles such as safe deserialization and input sanitization structurally prevent the weakness from being introduced.

Integrity verification tools can detect malformed or tampered serialized data after the fact.

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-02 none match
prevents

PR.PS-02 addresses only post-deployment updates/patching and cannot prevent introduction of unsafe deserialization code, yet it can remediate some instances when the flaw exists in outdated libraries or components.

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

Security testing includes validation of deserialization routines and the use of untrusted data, reducing the likelihood that unsafe object reconstruction will be deployed.

prevents

Requiring vetted libraries, regular updates and SAST before release reduces the likelihood that deserialization logic will accept and act on attacker-controlled serialized objects.

finds

Regular scanning of third-party libraries and timely patching reduce the likelihood that unsafe deserialization vulnerabilities remain active.

none

Mandatory malware scanning of data received over networks or storage media intercepts malicious serialized payloads before they are deserialized by the target application.

References